widow

widow
\ \ [OE] A widow is etymologically a woman who has been ‘separated’, left ‘solitary’.
\ \ The word goes back ultimately to Indo- European *widhewo, an adjective formed from the base *weidh- ‘separate’ (source also of English divide and Sanskrit vidhu- ‘solitary’).
\ \ This produced a large number of words for ‘widow’ in the Indo-European languages, including Latin vidua (source of French veuve, Italian vedova, and Spanish viuda), Russian and Czech vdova, and Welsh gweddr. To the Germanic languages it has given German witwe and Dutch weduwe as well as English widow. Widower was coined in the 14th century.
\ \ Cf.DIVIDE, INDIVIDUAL

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • WIDOW — (Heb. אַלְמָנָה, almanah; pl. אַלְמָנוֹת, almanot). Biblical Period The Hebrew substantive almanah, usually translated widow, often does not simply denote a woman whose husband is dead, but rather a once married woman who has no means of… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Widow — • Canonical prescriptions concerning widows in the Old Testament refer mainly to the question of remarriage Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Widow     Widow      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Widow — Wid ow (w[i^]d [ o]), n. [OE. widewe, widwe, AS. weoduwe, widuwe, wuduwe; akin to OFries. widwe, OS. widowa, D. weduwe, G. wittwe, witwe, OHG. wituwa, witawa, Goth. widuw[=o], Russ. udova, OIr. fedb, W. gweddw, L. vidua, Skr. vidhav[=a]; and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Widow — Wid ow, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Widowed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Widowing}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To reduce to the condition of a widow; to bereave of a husband; rarely used except in the past participle. [1913 Webster] Though in thus city he Hath widowed… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • widow — n. A wife who remains alive after her husband dies. The Essential Law Dictionary. Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008. widow A woman whose husband died while she was married to him …   Law dictionary

  • Widow — Wid ow, a. Widowed. A widow woman. 1 Kings xvii. 9. This widow lady. Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • WIDOW — is a full length album recorded by British rock band Ritual released in 1983. The album gained notability for the band when it was played several times by Alan Freeman on the Friday Rock Show.Also played on The World Service during an hour long… …   Wikipedia

  • widow — ► NOUN 1) a woman who has lost her husband by death and has not married again. 2) humorous a woman whose husband is often away participating in a specified sport or activity: a golf widow. ► VERB (be widowed) ▪ become a widow or widower. ORIGIN… …   English terms dictionary

  • widow — [wid′ō] n. [ME widwe < OE widewe, akin to Ger witwe, L vidua < IE * widhewo , separated < base * weidh , to separate: see DIVIDE] 1. a woman who has outlived the man to whom she was married at the time of his death; esp., such a woman… …   English World dictionary

  • Widow —   [engl.] Hurenkind …   Universal-Lexikon

  • widow — {{11}}widow (n.) O.E. widewe, widuwe, from P.Gmc. *widewo (Cf. O.S. widowa, O.Fris. widwe, M.Du., Du. weduwe, Du. weeuw, O.H.G. wituwa, Ger. Witwe, Goth. widuwo), from PIE adj. *widhewo (Cf. Skt. vidhuh lonely, solitary, vidhava …   Etymology dictionary

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