widow

B2 Topic:People & Society

Also spelled widder

US /ˈwɪd.oʊ/ UK /ˈwɪd.əʊ/ See IPA manual

Freq #3714

Meanings

1

noun
A woman whose husband has died.

After her husband passed away, she lived for many years as a widow.
2

verb
To make someone a widow or widower by causing their spouse's death.

The war widowed many women across the region.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a woman whose husband has... widow woman

More widowerwidowess

Word family

Forms widowhoodwidows

Derived forms chuck-will's-widowhalf-widowhemp-widowwidow-hunterwidow-makerwidow-wail

Related forms vidualwidowedwidowerwidowhood

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

widow bird
a mostly black African weaverbird

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Widow descends from an ancient root meaning “empty.” Related forms include Sanskrit vidh, “be destitute,” Latin viduus, “bereft, widowed,” Latin vidua, “widow” or “unmarried woman,” and Greek ēitheos, “unmarried man.”

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- Proto-Indo-European *h₁widʰéwh₂ Proto-Germanic *widuwǭ Proto-West Germanic *widuwā Old English widuwe Middle English widwe English widow PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English widow, 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. Cogn…

widwe Middle English widuwe Old English *widuwā Proto-West Germanic *widuwǭ Proto-Germanic *h₁widʰéwh₂ Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# widow

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈwɪd.oʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈwɪd.əʊ/
**Frequency rank:** 3714

## Meanings
1. A woman whose husband has died.
2. To make someone a widow or widower by causing their spouse's death.

## Examples
- After her husband passed away, she lived for many years as a widow.
- The war widowed many women across the region.

## Synonyms
- widower
- widowess

## Derived Forms
- chuck-will's-widow
- half-widow
- hemp-widow
- widow-hunter
- widow-maker
- widow-wail

## Related Forms
- vidual
- widowed
- widower
- widowhood

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: widwe
- Root: widuwe
- Root: *widuwā
- Root: *widuwǭ
- Root: *h₁widʰéwh₂

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- Proto-Indo-European *h₁widʰéwh₂ Proto-Germanic *widuwǭ Proto-West Germanic *widuwā Old English widuwe Middle English widwe English widow PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English widow, 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. Cogn…

## AI Etymology
Widow: The etymological chain runs Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ -> Proto-Indo-European *dwi- -> Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- -> Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- -> Proto-Indo-European *h₁widʰéwh₂ -> Proto-Germanic *widuwǭ -> Proto-West Germanic *widuwā -> Old English widuwe -> Middle English widwe -> English widow -> PIE word -> *dwóh₁. From Middle English widow, 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. Important historical forms include Middle English widwe, Old English widuwe, Proto-West Germanic *widuwā, Proto-Germanic *widuwǭ, and Proto-Indo-European *h₁widʰéwh₂.

## Topics
- People & Society

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