“widow” – English explanatory dictionary

noun a woman whose husband has died and who has not married again

n. [OE. widewe, widwe, AS. weoduwe, widuwe, wuduwe; akin to OFries. widwe, OS. widowa, D. weduwe, G. wittwe, witwe, OHG. wituwa, witawa, Goth. widuw, Russ. udova, OIr. fedb, W. gweddw, L. vidua, Skr. vidhava; and probably to Skr. vidh to be empty, to lack; cf. Gr. a bachelor. . Cf. Vidual.] A woman who has lost her husband by death, and has not married again; one living bereaved of a husband. ´A poor widow.´ Chaucer. Grass widow. See under Grass. — Widow bewitched, a woman separated from her husband; a grass widow. [Colloq.] — Widow-in-mourning (Zoöl.), the macavahu. — Widow monkey (Zoöl.), a small South American monkey (Callithrix lugens); — so called on account of its color, which is black except the dull whitish arms, neck, and face, and a ring of pure white around the face. — Widow’s chamber (Eng. Law), in London, the apparel and furniture of the bedchamber of the widow of a freeman, to which she was formerly entitled.

a. Widowed. ´A widow woman.´ 1 Kings xvii. 9. ´This widow lady.´ Shak.

v. t. [imp. & p. p. Widowed p. pr. & vb. n. Widowing.]
1. To reduce to the condition of a widow; to bereave of a husband; — rarely used except in the past participle. “Though in thus city he
Hath widowed and unchilded many a one,
Which to this hour bewail the injury.” Shak.
2. To deprive of one who is loved; to strip of anything beloved or highly esteemed; to make desolate or bare; to bereave. “The widowed isle, in mourning,
Dries up her tears.” Dryden. “Tress of their shriveled fruits
Are widowed, dreary storms o’er all prevail.” J. Philips. “Mourn, widowed queen; forgotten Sion, mourn.” Heber.
3. To endow with a widow’s right. [R.] Shak.
4. To become, or survive as the widow of. [Obs.] “Let me be married to three kings in a forenoon, and widow
them all.” Shak.

n. (Card Playing) In various games, any extra hand or part of a hand, as one dealt to the table.