Added 9 October 2026
widow
/ˈwɪd.əʊ/ noun
In Latin: vidua Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about widow at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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A person whose spouse is absent: A person who has lost a spouse and hasn't remarried: A woman whose spouse (traditionally husband) has died (and who has not remarried); a woman in relation to her late spouse; feminine of widower. Any person whose spouse has died (and who has not remarried). A woman whose husband is often away pursuing a hobby, career, etc.
My aunt is a football widow in the fall and a basketball widow in the winter and early spring.
- A person who has lost a spouse and hasn't remarried: A woman whose spouse (traditionally husband) has died (and who has not remarried); a woman in relation to her late spouse; feminine of widower. Any person whose spouse has died (and who has not remarried).
- A woman whose spouse (traditionally husband) has died (and who has not remarried); a woman in relation to her late spouse; feminine of widower.
verb
Origin
From Middle English widwe, from Old English widuwe (“widow”), from Proto-West Germanic *widuwā (“widow”), from Proto-Germanic *widuwǭ (“widow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁widʰéwh₂ (“widow”), possibly from *h₁weydʰh₁-, *widʰ- (“to separate, split, cleave, divide”), whence also wood from Old English widu, wudu.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)