| 释义 |
widown. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian widwe, wēdwe (West Frisian widdo), Old Dutch widowa (Middle Dutch, Dutch weduwe), Old Saxon widowa (Middle Low German wedewe, weduwe), Old High German wituwa (Middle High German witewe, German Witwe), Gothic widuwō, < the same Indo-European base as Sanskrit vidhavā, Avestan viδauuā-, classical Latin vidua widow, Old Irish fedb, Welsh gweddw, Old Church Slavonic vŭdova, (rare) vĭdova, Old Prussian widdewū, all feminine nouns in sense ‘widow’, and also ancient Greek ἠίθεος unmarried youth (usually with reference to men), corresponding to an adjective reflected by classical Latin viduus deprived of or lacking a spouse, deprived of or lacking (a thing), Russian vdovyj, Welsh gweddw widowed, unmarried, orphaned); further etymology uncertain.Romance parallels. Compare ( < Latin) Anglo-Norman and Old French veve , Middle French, French veuf , veuve (see veuve n.), Catalan viudo , viuda (13th cent. as viuva ), Spanish viudo , viuda (13th cent.), Portuguese viúvo , viúva (13th cent.), Italian vedovo , vedova (a1308), all adjectives in senses ‘deprived of, lacking, widowed’, also used as nouns with the specific sense ‘widowed person’, typically earliest (in feminine form) with reference to women (usually attested in this sense at least as early as the adjective). Further etymology. It is unclear whether the feminine noun or the adjective is primary; the feminine noun is more widespread in the Indo-European languages than the adjective, but the comparison of the forms of the adjective and noun can be interpreted to argue that the adjective was primary. In those languages in which an adjective form survives, the relationship between adjective and noun remains transparent. Where masculine nouns are attested these tend to be clearly secondary. It has been suggested that the word is ultimately < the same Indo-European base as Sanskrit vidh- to pierce, wound, and of -vid- (in classical Latin dīvidere divide v.; itself perhaps ultimately < a variant of the Indo-European base of two adj.), but this poses formal problems. Inflection in Old English. In Old English usually a weak feminine (widuwe ). A weak masculine by-form (widuwa ) is also attested (apparently in an isolated use) denoting a widower (see sense 12); compare Old High German wituwo widower, a masculine by-form corresponding to wituwa widow n. It is likely that the rare masculine noun was formed separately in both languages on the basis of the feminine noun, but it is also perhaps possible that both reflect an (otherwise unattested) earlier adjective which could take either gender. Later uses with reference to a man arise at least partly as extended uses of sense 1, rather than directly continuing the Old English masculine form. Forms such as wuduwa , widewa , etc. (which resemble masculine forms) are also occasionally attested with reference to female persons; these apparently arose by inverted spelling resulting from phonological reduction of the final vowel in later Old English, rather than showing the weak masculine inflection. In Northumbrian the word is also (rarely) attested with strong masculine inflections, by analogy. Form history. The β. forms are of various origins: partly reflecting Old English back mutation of i to io (later eo ), and partly Middle English open syllable lengthening of i to long close ē in northern dialects. The γ. forms show retraction of the vowel due to initial w- at different periods. Specific senses. In use with reference to widowbirds (see sense 7) after scientific Latin Vidua, genus name (see widowbird n.). In use with reference to champagne (see sense 9) after French veuve widow (in Veuve Clicquot, the name of a champagne house, so named in 1805 with reference to its widowed owner: see note at definition). In use with reference to widowed men (see branch II.) now largely superseded by widower n.1 With this use compare also the following early examples (from various parts of England) of the word used as a surname or byname for a man: Pet. le Wodewe (1296), Peter le Wydoue (1297), John le Wydewe (1327). The word is sometimes used with connotations of lack of legal security or material destitution, especially in early contexts; compare e.g. quots. OE2, ?c1225, a1400 at sense 1aα. . Compare also sense 3 and the compounds widow's cruse n., widow's mite n. at Compounds 5. Use in compounds. The weak genitive singular (Old English widuwan ) became by regular phonetic change in Middle English identical with the nominative; some early compounds that appear to be attributive may in fact be reflexes of genitive compounds (compare discussion at widowhood n.). I. A female widow, and related senses. 1. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widow α. OE Ælfric Homily: De Duodecim Abusivis (Corpus Cambr. 178) in R. Morris (1868) 1st Ser. 302 He sceal beon bewergend wydewena [a1225 Lamb. widewan] & steopcilda. OE (Tiber. B.iv) anno 975 Godes wiþærsacan Godes lage bræcon..& wydewan bestryptan oft & gelome. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 7998 An weppmann. & an widdwe. ?c1225 (?a1200) (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 8 Helpen widewen & federlase children. 1323 in H. Littlehales (1905) 1 I, Rose Wrytell, wydue, sumtyme the wyf of William ffayrstede, Clerk. c1380 (1879) l. 5521 Many a wydewe þar was mad, And many child faderles. a1400 (a1325) (Fairf. 14) l. 6787 Widow ne barne faderles. do ȝe na wrange ne na males. c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 313 Al be she mayde wydwe or ellis wyf. a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk (Gough) (1905) 32 A wydow þat het Drusyan, lay ded on bere. 1526 Matt. xxiii. f. xxxijv Ye devoure widdowes houses. ?1529 Will of Jane Sheffelde in (1914) I. 81 I Jane scheffelde of Croxby vidoy. 1540 in J. W. Clay (1902) VI. 127 If she kepe her widue..or if she forton to marie. c1567 in L. T. Smith (1885) 435 I haue beyn a wyddo this threscore yere. 1603 W. Shakespeare iii. ii. 212 Both here and there pursue me lasting strife, If once a widdow, euer I be wife. 1684 J. Bunyan 186 The Cake that the Widdow gave to the Prophet, did not cause that she had ever the less in her Barrel. View more context for this quotation 1726 J. Breval I. 210 Queen Margaret, Widow to Charles of Anjou..built her a little Palace here..in which she ended her Days. 1781 E. Gibbon II. xviii. 79 Constantia..remained the widow of the vanquished Licinius. 1836 C. Dickens (1837) xx. 205 Take example by your father, my boy, and be wery careful o' widders. 1877 W. S. Gilbert ii. 24 I'm no saucy minx and giddy..But a clean and tidy widdy. 1927 M. Kennedy 1 Catherine Frobisher was one of those women who are more conspicuously successful as widows than as wives. 1968 R. H. Frost ii. 19 His father died when Warren was two, leaving his mother a widow with nine children. 2014 A. Mueller i. 13 There are rumours that she had lost her wife of 21 years in a car accident... I think she is neither a widow nor a retired spy. 2015 (Nexis) 3 Apr. b4 Helen became a widow at the age of 42 and never remarried. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widow > as title the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous forms of address or title > [noun] > title > for a woman > widowed a1400 (a1325) (Fairf. 14) l. 21053 He [sc. John the Evangelist] raised þe widow drusian. þat dede was. a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara (1537) xlii. f. 80 I haue not determyned and iudged the..processe of the noble wydowe Drusia, with the Senate. 1576 J. Foxe (rev. ed.) II. 1981/1 Widowe Swayne. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. i. 81 Not since widdow Dido's time. View more context for this quotation 1659 in F. B. Dexter (1917) I. 403 Widdow Halbridge haveing beene oft put vpon remoues, a motion was made on her behalf for a small peice of ground to sett a house on. c1724 Rec. of Meadows in B. D. Hicks (1897) II. 294 Widdow Willits har lot laid out at hog iland. 1772 in G. Washington (1994) Colonial Ser. IX. 105 [Purchased of] Widow Stoughton..1 Galln Stoughton's Bitters. 1835 J. Poole I. 82 Nothing can exceed the cleanliness and comfort to be found at the cold and hot baths kept by Widow Sniggerston. 1882 C. E. L. Riddell ii. 27 Once, when overtaken by a thunderstorm, she sought refuge in widow Harting's cottage. 1925 Apr. 8/3 The Widow Sawyer, as everyone began to call her, started to do day work. 1975 B. Wood (1976) ii. iii. 65 The husband was dead, and this incredible-looking woman was the Widow Cranston. 2008 14 Jan. 64/3 She was up from the city in her white Escalade—the widow Babs. society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > queen > [noun] > specific 1862 May 46/2 We revert to the Royal Widow to whom this May morning will have recalled that one eleven years ago, when her beloved husband shared with her the glories of the occasion. 1888 R. Kipling 14 They tell me t' Widdy herself is fond of a good dog. 1932 12 Feb. 14/2 ‘The Widow’ (as we subalterns had irreverently nicknamed the Empress of India). 1964 E. Longford xxxvi. 562 She died just after half-past six... The famous ‘hush’ which had always surrounded ‘The Widow at Windsor’ was shattered. 2015 (Internat. ed.) (Nexis) 1 Sept. 6 By the time the Widow of Windsor finally passed, imperial Britain found a post-Victorian epoch a baffling prospect. society > faith > church government > laity > lay functionaries > widow > [noun] OE Ælfric (Royal) (1997) xxx. 429 Hieronimus se halga sacerd awrat ænne pistol..to sumum halgan mædene..& to hyre meder paulam, seo wæs gehalgod wydewe. OE Ælfric (St. John's Oxf.) 299 Eremita, westensetla. Nonna, arwyrþe wydewe oððe nunne. Cantor, sangere. c1400 (Selwyn) (1904) v. 5 (MED) Heo þat is a trewe wydewe & desolat, hope heo in God, & be he in hure preyeres & bysechynges nyȝt & day. a1500 (c1410) (Hunterian) (1976) 310 Sen[t] Powil bad þat he [sc. Timothy] schulde worchepyn verey wyduys. 1573 T. Cartwright 153 There is not so great vse of these widowes with vs, as there was in those places where the churches were first founded. 1587 D. Fenner sig. T3 We haue as members of the Church..the Deacons, Church-seruauntes, Widowers and widowes. 1645 R. Baillie ii. 28 They do maintain, that all the Officers of their Church, not onely Pastors, and Doctors, but every one of their other four sorts of Ministers, Elders, Deacons, Helpers, Widows,..ought in Conscience, and by Divine right to be..provided for. 1709 J. Johnson 241 A Widow or Deaconess, must, according to St. Paul, be Sixty. 1733 I. Maddox iii. 257 Discipline, is a Government in all Causes Ecclesiastical, by a Doctor, Pastor, Governing Elders, Deacons, and Relievers, or Widows in every Parish. 1893 D. O'Donoghue v. 182 He made his own father a monk, and his mother a consecrated widow. 1959 28 206/1 The deacons, eventually under the archdeacon (and later also widows and deaconesses), assumed..responsibilities for the poor. 2007 16 182 Some aspects of Guibert's mother's piety even exceeded the expectations set forth in a widow's formal benediction. society > society and the community > social relations > lack of social communication or relations > solitude or solitariness > [noun] > state of being left alone or forlorn > person the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] > remains > a survival eOE [implied in: King Ælfred tr. Gregory (Hatton) (1871) xxxi. 207 Ðære scame..ðe ðu on iuguðe worhtes ic gedoo ðæt ðu forgietsð & ðæs bismeres ðines wuduwanhades [L. opprobrii uiduitatis tuae] ðu ne gemansð, forðæm ðæt is ðin Waldend ðe ðe geworhte. (at widowhood n. 1c)]. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 441 Þe kyng was i-meved to helpe þe chirche þat so was hevedles and wedwe [a1425 Harl. hedles as it were a widewe; L. viduatae]. a1425 J. Wyclif (1871) II. 187 Þe Chirche, þat is wydowe for þis tyme. c1440 (Thornton) (1913) 26 (MED) Alle þe erthe wit-owtten oure lordchipe may be callede wedowe. a1505 R. Henryson Orpheus & Eurydice 627 in (1981) 153 For than gois bakwart to the syn agayn Oure appetite..And makis reson wedow for tobe. 1594 J. Sylvester sig. A.4 Soon as euer the bright season-stinter Hath left hir [sc. Winter] widdow of his wonted raies. 1624 P. Barker ii. 135 The Church is a widdow. a1787 J. Brown (1791) 4 Jesus Christ..died, and went to his Father, leaving his New-Testament Church a widow. 1849 G. H. Lewes in May 548 Oxford was then, as now, what Bruno wittily called her,—the widow of sound learning. 1891 10 Jan. 20/2 The daily London edition of the New York Herald came to an end... Its widow is still with us in the shape of a Sunday edition. ?1941 W. H. Auden (1994) 310 We are your conscience of your own confusion That made a stricken widow of the silence. 2013 J. L. Gross in K. W. Noe vii. 138 Her devotion to the Confederacy was unyielding, and she saw herself as its widow. the world > animals > family unit > [noun] > female > that's lost its mate a1300 (c1275) (1991) 519 If hire make were ded & ȝe widue wore. 1837 T. D. Weir Let. 6 Feb. in W. Macgillivray I. 525 The widow..had made choice of one of the largest and finest crows..as her partner for life. 1878 16 Sept. 3/1 ‘Widows,’ alias old hens, are to be bought at a shilling each. 1918 F. Broad xx. 152 An animal might destroy its rival and appropriate its widow. 1992 31 89/1 The widows that had been faithful to their initially chosen mate rejected copulation attempts by the replacement male. 5. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married woman > [noun] > wife > wife whose husband is absent society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > divorce or dissolution > [noun] > separation > person separated > woman 1447 O. Bokenham (Arun.) (1938) l. 1973 Welkecome, dere spouse... I was a wedowe, and now I am non. 1461 T. Denys in (2004) II. 231 I pray you socour my wif, for she is wedow yet for me. a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk (Gough) (1905) 16 (MED) I was wedow, and now I am noon. 1651 J. Burbury tr. L. Assarino iv. 150 Antiochus..consumed himself in the sufferings of desire, longing extreamly to enjoy the Widow of a Husband yet living. 1722 D. Defoe 72 I was a Widow bewitch'd, I had a Husband, and no Husband, and I could not pretend to Marry again. 1786 xii. 113 She archly hinted that my situation, as a widow bewitched, did not make it probable I was altogether free from the tyranny of that passion, which rules the heart. 1789 W. Hayley III. xv. 183 Caroline undertook to furnish me with constant intelligence concerning the health and affections of my dear and thus apparently deserted widow. 1809 July 15 I have been exactly in the tantalizing predicament of what is sometimes called ‘a widow bewitched’. 1863 E. C. Gaskell III. x. 171 Who'd ha' thought of yo'r husband, him as was so slow and sure..making a moonlight flitting, and leaving yo' to be a widow bewitched! 1901 ‘Zack’ 283 Martha Barnaby..was a widdy by will, her man bein' friendly to furren parts. 1908 M. B. Lowndes 370 ‘A widow bewitched is a woman,’—Rose had the grace to blush,—‘who's neither married nor single!’ 1898 Dec. 180 Why should there be any such thing as a golf widow? Nobody ever heard of a golf widower. 1929 Apr. 244/1 I never heard of a ‘bird widow’ until I became one myself. 1951 Aug. 31/1 The Golf Widows and Poker Widows and Convention Widows lament their plights loudly. But the Trout Widow complains only half-heartedly, for she cherishes the eternal small boy in her angling spouse. 1965 30 July 10/5 One Scottish TA unit, aware of the dangers of..creating ‘TA widows’ opens its bar on drill nights to wives and girl friends. 1980 14 Jan. 8/2 Keyboards, screens, printers and central processors are giving birth to a new social problem, ‘computer widows’. 2014 T. Hornung xx. 112 I am a football widow. the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > a fire > [noun] > a kind of fire > small fire 1710 23–25 Oct. Fire expiring's call'd a Widow. the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > seed eaters > family Ploceidae > [noun] > subfamily Viduinae (whydah) 1747 G. Edwards II. 86 The Red-Breasted Long-Tailed Finch..from Angola in Africa... A Gentleman, who lately arrived from Lisbon, tells me the Portuguese call this Bird the Widow, from its Colour, and long Train. 1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre II. vii. 3 In the feathery race, the widow, the cardinal, &c…exhibit much more powerful colouring, when the Sun approaches toward the Line. 1823 (1830) XVI. 80/2 Long-tailed Widow, or Orange-shouldered Bunting. 1878 J. H. Studer 50/2 The Paradise Widow (Steganura paradisea), is black upon the head, back, and tail; brilliant red upon the nape and lower parts of the body. 1920 May 24/1 The pin tailed widow (Vidua Principalis) is a well-known bird. 1984 G. L. Maclean 733 A male widow replaces its rectrices (tail feathers) in the pre-breeding moult. 2005 Autumn 38/2 The extravagant tail of the male long-tailed widow..can hamper the bird..severely. society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card or cards > [noun] > hand > extra hand dealt to table 1864 W. B. Dick 182 If any player knocks before the widow is taken, the widow is then turned face up. 1891 204 Five cards are..dealt to each player, with an extra hand, known as ‘the widow.’ The elder hand may either play his own hand, pass, or take the widow. 1906 26 May 11/3 B bets C that he, C, has no right to take the widow after she has been turned face up on the table. 1968 16 Aug. 42/1 A new form—widow poker—took shape gradually... Other widow games followed: Cincinnati, Lamebrain Pete, Tennessee, Wild Widow, Hollywood, Southern Cross. 2005 P. Jillette & M. D. Lynn (2006) 205 There's a round of betting before the first widow is turned up. the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > wine > French wines > [noun] > champagne 1876 Sept. 350/1 The widow Clicquot was the only lady present, and inspired by the example of my companions, I was, contrary to my usual custom, somewhat marked in my attentions to her. 1899 G. N. Boothby xvii A good luncheon and a pint of the Widow to wash it down. 1979 P. Alexander xvi. 170 ‘I've been drinking champagne.’ ‘So have we... Want to try the Widow? It's all we've got.’ 2000 E. Wright iv. 32 Clearly Rosie was no seamstress to be kept in a rat-filled attic and rogered for the price of a bottle of the widow. society > communication > printing > printed matter > arrangement or appearance of printed matter > [noun] > distinct passage, beginning on new line > line at end of paragraph 1904 (S. S. McClure Co.) 25 Care should also be exercised to overcome ‘widdies’ at the top of pages. 1954 M. Laski in Winter 30/2 It is a common experience, when working for Vogue, to be asked to add a few words to a paragraph so as to avoid unsightly ‘widows’ or single-word lines. 2004 J. Erdal iii. 56 I would..pounce on a widow and gleefully rearrange the spacing to remove all trace of it. the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > masturbation > [noun] > hand as used to masturbate 1961 A. Sillitoe xvi. 211 Sex-life: plenty until he fell foul of the authorities and received his two years. Five-fingered widow now. 1971 B. W. Aldiss 44 In there [i.e. in the ‘shithouse’], behind the stable-like door of one compartment or another, I went to a regular evening rendezvous with my dry-mouthed widow. 1975 C. Allen xv. 159 Many turned, as a last resort, to the ‘five-fingered widow’. 2008 T. W. Shepard vi. 102 The five-fingered Widow would never give you syphilis. II. A male widow. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widower OE Wulfstan (Junius) 332 Gif hire þonne forðsið gebyrige, þonne is rihtost, þæt he þananforð wydewe [OE Corpus Cambr. 201 wuduwa, OE Nero wydewa] þurhwunige. 1340 (1866) 193 And alneway me ssel ham bleþeliche yeue, and nameliche to þe poure ssamueste. and to þe uaderlease. an to wyfmen wodewen. and to oþre nieduolle. c1450 (a1425) (Selden) l. 1064 (MED) Iudas wyfe in þos days dyed; the[n] was he wedow, leuyd alone. a1505 R. Henryson Orpheus & Eurydice 414 in (1981) 146 A wofull wedow [v.r. wedaw] hame-wart is he went. 1518 H. Watson tr. sig. A.iiij Seynge that bothe partyes were wydowes,..it were moost conuenyent that he came theder for to wedde her. 1579 L. Tomson tr. J. Calvin i. iii. 257/2 He abstened from marriage: whether hee neuer had a wife, or was a widowe, and kepte himself without one. 1655 in G. R. Kinloch (1837) 68 Supplicateing that in regard he being a widow, and having diverse..young children, he may be permitted to marie. 1664 ii. xvi. 459 Our bridegroom cannot want a wife: Can he live a widow? 1814 (new ed.) IV. 93 He still lived a widow, on his estate in Jamaica. 1827 C. I. Johnstone III. v. 126 Deacon Daigh's a widow too—better a bein baxter than a poor preacher. 1894 S. R. Crockett xxii. 200 I had been a widow three years when I began to gang aboot Parton Hoose to see her. 1912 J. Burleigh 128 My son's a weeda'. 2003 S. Torres Webbe viii. 127 He's a widow you know. He probably wants to take you on a date. Phrases1896 Dec. 784 Any road of that kind is not a widow and orphan investment fund. 1939 4 Dec. 3/1 Should she stick to the traditional ‘widow and orphan’ investments, or have the experience of the big depression? 1998 6 July 44/2 The deal..will mark AT&T's final transformation from a ‘widows and orphans’ stock into a high-risk, go-go company. 2016 (Nexis) 17 July e1 Widow and orphan stocks feature nice dividends and low volatility. Compounds C1. attributive. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widow > life as society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widow > condition of c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 7669 Affterr þatt tatt he wass dæd Ne toc ȝho wiþþ nan oþerr. Acc ledde siþþenn widdwe lif Inn alle gode þæwess. c1450 (a1425) (Selden) l. 1081 (MED) Hyr wedow wedes scho layd away. a1586 Sir P. Sidney (1590) iii. v. sig. Ll6 O widow-nights, beare witnes with me of the difference. 1597 W. Shakespeare ii. ii. 65 Our fatherlesse distresse was left vnmoand, Your widdowes dolours likewise be vnwept. View more context for this quotation 1602 J. Marston iii. iv. sig. F4v O thou cold widdowe bed, sometime thrice blest, By the warme pressure of my sleeping Lord. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iii. iv. 105 My faire sonne,..My widow-comfort, and my sorrowes cure. View more context for this quotation 1742 J. Cennick 30 I bewail thine unseen Love; And this my Widow-State. 1788 June 327/2 The maiden, nuptial, and the widow life, She has adorn'd, and shines again a wife. a1851 M. W. Shelley (1959) iv. 22 My father had often told me that however he might appear weaned from his widow sorrow,..yet he would never dare visit the spot where he had enjoyed her society. 1894 4 189 The old age pension, the widow pension, the orphan pension, are in vigor. 1906 11 621 May not conjugal abstinence be a worn-down survival, like widow-chastity, of the sacrifice of women to deceased relatives? 1925 E. von Arnim i. vii. 64 Christopher was careful not to say anything this time that might set her off in widow-reveries. 2001 A. Sinclair ix. 163 In her sterile, unfinished, incomplete widow state. 1714 J. Addison No. 561. ¶1 A certain Female Cabal..who call themselves the Widow-Club. 1821 J. Wilks 89/2 The managers of the Widow Society had each a separate district; and Mrs. Graham, as first directress, had a general superintendance of the whole. 1839 I. Taylor I. 382 The widow-band, the appendage of a company of helpless women. 1999 K. Langello 224 Between Meals-On-Wheels and the widow brigade, he had enough food to feed a football team. 2012 (Nexis) 8 Aug. 17 a She was also a member of the Eastern Star and the Shriner's Widow Club. C2. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widow > types of widow 1561 J. Heywood tr. Seneca ii. sig. D Not hym subdewde who euer lyes in bedde vnmatcht at nyghtThe wyddowe queene [sc. Hippolyta; L. regina..vidua] of them that toke to Thermodont their flyght. 1650 J. Howell tr. A. Giraffi i. 119 He commanded that morning the House of a widdow Baker to be burnt. 1690 J. Locke i. xi. 158 Who has the Paternal Power whilst the Widdow queen is with Child? 1711 J. Swift 8 Nov. (1948) II. 407 The widow duchess will not stand to the will. 1831 G. Ross tr. F. Bulgarin I. ii. 33 On the death of my parents, I was taken home by a widow-aunt of mine. 1856 W. E. Aytoun i. 13 To claim the hand of Scotland's Queen, The widow-child of France. 1939 J. Grenfell Let. 20 Feb. in (1989) 103 Winnie, my widow-cook, being herself the mother of two, thinks she knows more than Nanny about what he should eat. 1974 4 24/2 My mother used to tell me with great glee how her widow friends rejoiced in their freedom now their husbands were dead. 1978 22 85 These were the disciples of the widow-witch Chalonarong. b. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widow 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart II. cxciv. f. ccxlv/1 There was a treatie of maryage to be had bytwene the lorde Philyppe of Arthoys & the yong wydowe lady of Berrey [Fr. et madame..de Berry]. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. i. 549 How may we content This widdow Lady ? View more context for this quotation 1756 M. Calderwood (1884) 17 Here are Mrs. this or that, old maids, and so many widow ladies. 1863 D. G. Mitchell 17 Another letter, from a widow lady, invited attention to the admired place of her late husband. 1904 Apr. 75/1 A widow lady invited offers for the lease of a lodge in Liscora Park. 2014 L. S. Glaz iii. 36 I'd hate to think a church-going man could be that heartless to a widow lady. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widow > types of widow 1582 J. Stubbs tr. T. de Bèze sig. F.vv Ioyne your testimonies before the eternal God, vnto the complaintes of your poore widowe mother [Fr. mere, vefue] languishing yet in earth. a1711 T. Ken (1721) I. 99 The Son for whom his Widow-Mother groan'd. 1821 R. Pollok in D. Pollok (1843) iv. 87 A small house, inhabited by a widow-mother and an only daughter. 2011 R. C. Tapia 111 Images of devastated widow-mothers..were deployed in all forms of local and national media. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widow 1340 (1866) 226 (MED) Zaynte pauel wyþ-nimþ þe yonge wyfmen wodewen [c1450 Bk. Vices & Virtues wommen widowes]. 1510 A. Chertsey tr. (de Worde) ii. lxxiii. f. clxx/1 A noble matrone a wedowe woman was wrothe & tormented of the multytude of ye ten chyldren that she had. 1672 L. Howard 8 This Woodman took to Wife, an honest sober widdow Woman in Dover. 1792 J. Byng Diary 9 June in (1936) III. 94 Stay—I think it is a widow-woman. 1891 T. Hardy II. xxix. 100 As I say, 'tis a widow-woman, and she had money, it seems—fifty poun' a year or so. 1908 Sept. 138/2 A Chinese widow woman of Wai-ki-ki. 2006 A. M. Foley ii. 10 A widow-woman, Nellie Willey, lived with her. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > seeking marriage > [noun] > seeking a wife > seeking widow as society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > seeking marriage > [noun] > seeking a wife > seeking widow as > one who 1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre i. iii. 5 in II Sir, but i'faith, would thou wouldst leaue thy exercise of widdow-hunting once! 1657 R. Tomlinson tr. J. de Renou Medicinal Materials i, in sig. Nn Mezereon is as much as viduifical, or widow-making Plant. 1714 J. Addison No. 561. ¶1 Those unhappy Gentlemen who are commonly distinguished by the Name of Widow-hunters. 1849 R. S. Surtees Soapey Sponge's Sporting Tour i, in Jan. 3 With this popular sport he combined the diversion of widow-hunting. 1876 G. M. Hopkins Wreck of Deutschland xiii, in (1967) 55 The widow-making unchilding unfathering deeps. 1909 24 July 11/1 ‘Widow-chasers’ is the picturesque trade term by which a certain class of petty swindlers is known. 1926 K. M. Lynch 172 His gay widow-wooing..occupies no small amount of his time and effort. 1994 (Nexis) 17 Nov. f1 Sometimes..some widow-cheating rat would have to skulk out of town. 1997 A. S. Manji 6 I have come to view AIDS as a ‘widow-creating disease’. C4. Compounds with widow. a. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widow > types of widow > by self-immolation on husband's pyre > custom of 1767 I. ‘List of Cuts’ following Pref. Gentoo Widow burning. 1867 F. M. Müller II. 34 The custom of widow-burning. 2000 A. Ghosh (2001) xxiv. 294 Look at the way women are treated even today, look at the caste system, untouchability, widow-burning..all these terrible, terrible things. society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > pastor > [noun] > church not having 1575 T. Cartwright p. cl That parte off the diocese, wher the voide, and widowe churches be. 1642 Bp. J. Taylor §25.147 The Councill of Sardis making provision for the manner of election of a Bishop to a Widdow-Church. 1756 A. Butler I. 216 He..recommends himself and his widow-church of Antioch to their prayers. 2014 J. F. Byrnes x. 206 The see of Lyon laments widow churches in the dioceses of Montblanc. 1614 J. Sylvester tr. J. Bertaut Panaretus 33 in Hundred Laurells neuer widow-curst. the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Dipsacaceae (teasel and allies) > [noun] > scabious or devil's bit 1789 tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre II. xvi. 39 One would imagine it [sc. the scabious] was in mourning; and it is for this reason called the widow flower [Fr. fleur de veuve]. 1799 J. Ebers III. 897/1 Wittwenblume, die, the Scabious, the Widow-Flower. 1856 June 336/1 Field Scabious (S. arvensis), or ‘widow flower’, bows its handsome lilac heads amongst the waving corn. 1882 11 Mar. 155/3 The purple Scabious..is known in some places by the name of the Widow Flower. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widower ?1555 T. Paynell tr. J. L. Vives sig. G.viv It is to be considered and wayed, who it is that wyll be maryed, and whether he be..a wydowe man [L. sit..viduus], or whether he hath ben maryed or no. 1643 in G. R. Kinloch (1837) 13 A widow man..quho hes a woman living in the house with him. 1720 C. Morris 15 Dec. (1934) 83 Brown, & Foxwell, the Widow Man & 3 or 4 more affirm'd their Commons were too small. 1841 S. C. Hall & A. M. Hall I. 30 Her father came here soon after she was born, a widow-man with only her. 1946 C. McCullers ii. 43 He was a widowman, for her mother had died the very day that she was born—and, as a widowman, set in his ways. 1999 F. McCourt li. 463 I'm a rich widow man with a farm o' land. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widow > types of widow > widow with share of husband's property > widow's share of property society > law > legal right > right of possession or ownership > right to succeed to title, position, or estate > succession > [noun] > descent by inheritance > that which is inherited > widow's inheritance 1569 in J. W. Clay (1912) II. 55 After the widowright of my wief. 1614 Will of James Pattison in F. Collins (1905) II. 49 One third of my goodes, which is her widdow right. 1798 W. F. Mavor V. 136 If she marry or miscarry, she shall loose her widow-right. 1956 W. M. Williams ii. 52 Customs of wardship and widow right. a1586 Sir P. Sidney (1593) iii. sig. Kk4 A widow turtle neere on bared rootes Sate wailing without bootes. 1614 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Bethulians Rescue iv, in 154 On the wither'd Spray The Widow-Turtle sighes her mournfull Lay. 1727 W. Pattison I. 46 A Widow-Turtle weeps her ravish'd Love, And Sorrowfully solaces the Grove. 1649 R. Lovelace 99 Peason, Chickens, sawces high, Pig, and the Widdow-Venson-pye. b. In the names of animals (esp. birds) having black or dark colouring resembling that of a widow's mourning clothes. Cf. widowbird n. 2. 1873 E. E. Frewer tr. G. Schweinfurth I. ii. 68 Dark brown widow-ducks (Anas viduata) [Ger. Witwenenten] and shovellers were shot. 1902 L. Wright 553/2 The Widow duck (D. viduata = ‘little widow’) has rather long, thin, lead coloured legs. 1920 W. H. Hudson II. 141 One of its vernacular names is Pato viuda (Widow Duck) from its dark plumage relieved by white in front. 1956 M. Savill tr. E. A. Zwilling viii. 151 Female Nile geese led their goslings in prudent circles, African widow duck, spurred and humpbacked geese craned their necks. the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > seed eaters > family Ploceidae > [noun] > subfamily Viduinae (whydah) 1831 20/1 Widow Finch. Vidua paradisæa. 1885 IV. 542 The vida-finches, often called widow-finches. 1920 G. D. H. Carpenter viii. 176 Neither have I seen the Bishop and Widow finches, beautiful brightly coloured birds, which could hardly escape notice. 2001 93 238 (table) Steelblue widowfinch. Vidua chalybeata. the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Geometridae > cidaria luctuata 1871 J. M. Wright ix. 287 The owl eyed the widow-moth who perhaps had flown in his company on dark nights long gone. 1980 G. A. Seaman 15 From some dark resting place, a weary black widow moth darts in wild, frayed flight. C5. Compounds with widow's. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widow > types of widow > widow with share of husband's property > widow's share of property society > law > legal right > right of possession or ownership > right to succeed to title, position, or estate > succession > [noun] > descent by inheritance > that which is inherited > widow's inheritance 1673 J. Ray S. & E. Countrey Words in 79 Widows bench, a share of the Husbands Estate which Widows in Sussex enjoy beside their joyntures. 1795 P. Dunvan 217 The widow of an heir by descent, though unadmitted, may, within three courts holden after her husband's death, claim her widow's bench. 1992 51 211 She also had received an additional payment in return for giving up her widow's bench: Marfa had taken 25 rubles for agreeing not to live with her stepsons. 1817 Feb. 63/2 The elegant young man on whose account you consented to look interesting in your widow's cap. 1928 ‘Brent of Bin Bin’ xxii. 356 Adjusting her widow's cap like a war-bonnet, she arose to her full height of five-feet-one-and-a-half. 2001 (Nexis) 18 Jan. 3 Widow's caps were..usually trimmed with white crepe. society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > [noun] > set of furniture society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widow > types of widow > widow with share of husband's property > widow's share of property 1680 80 By the Custom of London a Freeman's Widow may require a third part of his personal Estate after his Debts paid, and Funeral Charges discharged, besides her Widows Chamber furnished. 1800 III. 71 If a wife be divorced..for adultery, she forfeits her right to her moiety and widow's chamber. 2003 56 1059 Also exonerated by customary law was the value of the apparel and furniture of the ‘widow's chamber’. 1875 XIV. 751/2 In some localities [Sedum pulchellum] is known as the widow's cross. 1941 (Federal Writers' Project) 23 In the limestone and dolomite glades, umbrella wort, widow's cross,..and the edible ground plum are commonly found. 2010 J. Ney & T. Nichols 22 Tiny bluet, wild petunia, and succulent widow's cross—all wildflowers that bloom in the warmth of early spring. the mind > possession > supply > [noun] > source of supply > abundant > but apparently meagre 1606 R. Meredeth ii. 38 Powred forth..like the oyle of the widowes cruse of Sarrepta. 1816 W. Scott Old Mortality xii, in 1st Ser. IV. 268 ‘Can you lodge a stranger for a night?’ ‘I can, sir, if he will be pleased with the widow's cake and the widow's cruize.’ 1977 125 463/1 Information is infinitely reproducible without diminishing it: it is a veritable widow's cruse. 2002 72 107 A sip? A glass? Try some more? We've a widow's cruse—don't be shy. the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > a fire > [noun] > a kind of fire > small fire 1619 Bp. J. King 33 She had but a little meale,..and was gathering two stickes, to make a widowes fire. 1919 Dec. 1049 ‘Widow's-fire’—a fire on one side of the grate only. the world > life > the body > hair > hair of head > lock or locks > [noun] a1543 J. London Let. in H. Ellis (1846) 3rd Ser. III. 132 Suche as..hadde any slottiche wydowes lockes, viz. here growen to gether in a tufte. 1887 5 217 A lock of hair hanging down over the forehead is in Cornwall called ‘a widow's lock’. 1896 G. F. Northall Widow's-lock, a small lock or fringe growing apart from the hair above the forehead. 1922 Sept. 107/1 There was nothing amiss with the gray matter behind her smooth forehead with its widow's lock of soft brown hair. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > fitness for marriage > [noun] > marriageable person > man desirable or ideal as husband > to widows society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > [noun] > crew > member of crew > fictitious 1749 H. Fielding I. iii. vi. 189 As to Square, who was..what is called a jolly Fellow, or a Widow's Man, he easily reconciled his Choice to the eternal Fitness of Things. View more context for this quotation 1757 (Royal Navy) (ed. 9) 220 Every Commander is to enter and bear upon the Books of the Ship or Vessel he commands..so many fictitious Names of Men, under the Appellation of Widows Men. 1790 2 Oct. Fictitious Seamen called Widow's Men. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Widows' men, imaginary sailors, formerly borne on the books as A. B.'s for wages in every ship in commission; they ceased with the consolidated pay at the close of the war. 2006 R. Adkins & L. Adkins (2008) ii. 33 Every naval ship's muster book carried a number of ‘widow's men’, usually in the proportion of two for every hundred men in the crew. society > trade and finance > money > sum of money > [noun] > small sum > coin as type of 1572 E. Cradock ii. vii. 186 Christe himselfe..preferreth the poore widowes myte in the gospell, before the riche giftes of many other. 1633 in L. B. Taylor (1942) I. 379 It is not muche, bot ane widowes myte given with..goodwill. 1822 C. M. Sedgwick vii. 104 ‘Here,’ said she, after rummaging her pocket and taking out a reluctant ninepence; ‘here is a “widow's mite” for you.’ 1994 H. Chappell 90 Little old ladies with blue hair who are all looking to spend their widow's mite looking for husband number two. the world > life > the body > hair > hair of head > hairline > [noun] > types of 1681 N. Grew iv. iii. 374 An apron for the Pudenda of a Woman. A ¼ of a yard deep, and shaped like a Widows Peak. 1849 H. W. Longfellow viii. 38 She had on her forehead what is sometimes denominated a ‘widow's peak’,—that is to say, her hair grew down to a point in the middle. 1978 ‘M. M. Kaye’ xxiii. 339 A small muslin turban..covered her hair and showed only the deep widow's peak in the angle where its folds crossed. 2015 (Nexis) 31 Aug. 60 He shaves his head close, the black stubble of his hairline descending to a widow's peak. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widow > types of widow > widow with share of husband's property > widow's share of property society > law > legal right > right of possession or ownership > right to succeed to title, position, or estate > succession > [noun] > descent by inheritance > that which is inherited > widow's inheritance 1684 G. Mackenzie i. vi. 55 She has also a right to the liferent of the third of the lands, wherein he dyed infest, and this is called a Widows Terce. 1838 W. Bell 985 Where a husband has disponed property in which he stands infeft, but dies before the disponee has taken infeftment, the widow's terce will form a burden on the property so disponed. 2014 S. Boardman in S. Boardman & J. Goodare ii. 45 The widow's terce..would seem to have made Margaret..a significant target for ambitious lords seeking social and financial advancement. society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > other elements > [noun] > balustraded platform round roof 1920 D. Whitehill ii. 21 The ‘widows' walk’ was Janet's favorite place in which to think things out, for it was on the flat roof of the house, away from any possible interruptions. 1961 J. Steinbeck i. 14 The fine old house.., white-painted shiplap with a fanlight over the front door, and Adam decorations and a widow's walk on the roof. 2006 (Nexis) 17 Sept. 1 f A rickety wooden staircase leads to the widow's walk. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [noun] > widow > widow's clothes the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > for specific purpose > mourning > for nearest relatives > for widows 1578 W. Hunnis (Gen. xxxviii.) f. 96 Home wyth Child shee went, And did put on her Widowes Weede her Uayle aside she layd. 1715 J. Addison ii. i. 16 She was drown'd in Tears 'till such time as the Taylor had made her Widow's Weeds. 1842 F. Marryat I. xii. 141 My mother..did not like widow's weeds. 2002 25 Oct. c5/3 His demise doesn't send Regina into widow's weeds. She was thinking of divorcing him anyway. Derivatives society > faith > church government > laity > lay functionaries > widow > [noun] 1593 R. Bancroft 221 There is a second sorte of Disciplinary Widdowistes. 1904 C. L. Marson Introd. p. xvi Song is not won widow-wise, ‘by brisk assault and putting on’,..but rather must be wooed by slow approaches, like a maid. 2005 L. Barfoot (2006) 231 She's the only person in the room who can, wife-wise, widow-wise, trump Lynn. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online December 2021). widowv. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: widow n. Etymology: < widow n. Compare Old High German wituwēn to be widowed, and (with prefix ir- : see or- prefix) Old High German irwituwēn to make (a person) a widow. Compare also classical Latin viduāre to deprive (of), to bereave, in post-classical Latin also (intransitive) to be a widow (12th cent. in a British source: see viduate adj.). With sense 1b compare slightly earlier widowed adj. 1. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [verb (transitive)] > survive as widow > make widow a1400 (a1325) (Coll. Phys.) l. 24197 (MED) Ik am nu widuit [Vesp. I am nu widu] of mi spus. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) v. vi. 152 In this City hee Hath widdowed and vnchilded many a one. View more context for this quotation 1748 S. Richardson IV. xviii. 84 The Royal butchers; who..widow ten thousand at a brush, and make twice as many fatherless. 1795 E. M. Foster III. vi. 128 He had been the cause of..widowing a doting wife. 1814 R. Southey iii. 290 One hour hath orphaned me and widowed me. 1884 A. S. Swan x. 92 Be careful of yourself—for Dorothea's sake. I would not like to see her early widowed. 1917 72 180 It is a perfectly hideous thing for men to be shooting one another, widowing the women. 1955 A. W. Baldwin xx. 331 His eldest daughter, widowed by the enemy in 1944, had come to live with him after her mother's death. 1985 47 257/2 My father-in-law..had been widowed a year or two earlier, so moved in with us. 2010 25 Oct. 94/1 Her first response to being widowed is to proceed with washing the dishes. the mind > possession > loss > taking away > take away [verb (transitive)] > deprive (of) > of something highly prized ?1591 H. Barrow 220 Widowing & spoiling the Church of that comfort and assistance she should haue of the ciuil magistrate. 1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna f. 11 Many columnes widowed and depriued of their Capitels. 1649 C. Wase tr. Sophocles 53 The House Widow'd of Friends, and seiz'd upon by Fiends! 1677 T. Baker Let. in S. P. Rigaud & S. J. Rigaud (1841) (modernized text) II. 18 The second equation is widowed of its geometrical construction. 1745 E. Young 62 Wit, widow'd of Good-Sense, is worse than Nought. 1847 J. S. Le Fanu xlviii. 303 Odd niches and nooks..widowed of the clocks and presses. 1874 J. L. Motley I. p. viii France, widowed of Henry and waiting for Richelieu. 1922 A. Huxley iii. iii. 145 He had buttoned up his waistcoat in such a fashion that one button was widowed of its hole and one hole of its button. 1987 R. Randhawa 5 Rain pitting against the windows of her emptied house, widowing her of all enthusiasm and adventure. 2010 J.-L. de Biasi iii. 76 And so the earth became widowed of the gods. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [verb (transitive)] > survive as widow a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) i. ii. 23 Let mee be married to three Kings in a forenoone, and Widdow them all. View more context for this quotation society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [verb (transitive)] > survive as widow > endow with share of husband's property society > law > legal right > right of possession or ownership > right to succeed to title, position, or estate > succession > cause to descend by succession [verb (transitive)] > cause to descend by inheritance > cause to inherit > serve widow to legal inheritance a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) v. i. 421 For his Possessions,..We doe en-state, and widow you with all, To buy you a better husband. View more context for this quotation This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online December 2021). <  n.eOE v.a1400 |
