OXFORD DICTIONARY
, n. & v.
--n.
1 a woman who has lost her husband by death and has not married again.
2 a woman whose husband is often away on a specified activity (golf widow).
3 extra cards dealt separately and taken by the highest bidder.
4 Printing the short last line of a paragraph at the top of a page or column.
--v.tr.
1 make into a widow or widower.
2 (as widowed adj.) bereft by the death of a spouse (my widowed mother).
3 (foll. by of) deprive of.
widow-bird a whydah. widow's cruse an apparently small supply that proves or seems inexhaustible (see
1 Kgs. 17:10-16). widow's mite a small money contribution (see Mark 12:42). widow's peak a V-shaped growth of hair towards the centre of the forehead. widow's weeds see WEEDS.
OE widewe, rel. to OHG wituwa, Skr. vidh{aacute}va, L viduus bereft, widowed, Gk eitheos unmarried man
ROGET THESAURUS
Divorce
N
divorce, divorcement, separation, judicial separation, separate maintenance, separatio a mensa et thoro, separatio a vinculo matrimonii, trial separation, breakup, annulment, widowhood, viduity, weeds,
widow, widower, relict, dowager, divorcee, cuckold, grass
widow, grass widower, merry
widow.