You use dowager to refer to the wife of a dead duke, emperor, or other man of high rank.
The Dowager Queen fainted with shock.
Nobody was allowed to eat in the Empress Dowager's presence.
Dowager is also a noun.
2. countable noun
If you refer to a woman as a dowager, you mean that she is old and rich or looks important.
[literary]
...like stately dowagers on a cruise.
dowager in British English
(ˈdaʊədʒə)
noun
1.
a.
a widow possessing property or a title obtained from her husband
b.
(as modifier)
the dowager duchess
2.
a wealthy or dignified elderly woman
Word origin
C16: from Old French douagiere, from douagedower
dowager in American English
(ˈdauədʒər)
noun
1.
a woman who holds some title or property from her deceased husband, esp. the widow of a king, duke, etc. (often used as an additional title to differentiate her from the wife of the present king, duke, etc.)
a queen dowager
an empress dowager
2.
an elderly woman of stately dignity, esp. one of elevated social position
a wealthy dowager
adjective
3.
noting, pertaining to, or characteristic of a dowager
the dowager duchess
to prefer a dowager style of dress
Derived forms
dowagerism
noun
Word origin
[1520–30; ‹ MF douag(i)ere, equiv. to douage dower ( see endow, -age) + -iere, fem. of -ier-ier2]
Examples of 'dowager' in a sentence
dowager
I have consoled myself with champagne, and with imagining edifices of elaborate insults to every dowager that has strutted past the table.
Thomas, Rosie THE WHITE DOVE (2002)
I want to nip in and out of places not be wheeled about like some grand old dowager on her rounds.
Sue Welfare FALLEN WOMEN (2002)
On our left, the elegant old dowager Cloister slept in its garden of flowers, under its arching canopy of ancient oaks.