widower

English

Etymology

From Middle English widwer, equivalent to widow +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈwɪdoʊɚ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

widower (plural widowers)

1. A man whose spouse has died (and who has not remarried); a man in relation to his late spouse; masculine of widow.
   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, , →OCLC, Canto XIII, page 20:

     Tears of the widower, when he sees
     ⁠A late-lost form that sleep reveals,
     ⁠And moves his doubtful arms, and feels
     Her place is empty, fall like these; […]

   • 1988 April 2, Lori Kenschaft, “Film on lovers of PWAs in works”, in Gay Community News, page 6:

     What happens to the lovers of people with AIDS? How do they experience the passage from lover to caregiver to "widower"?

Derived terms

Related terms

• widow
• widowerhood

Translations

References

• James A. H. Murray [et al.], editors (1884–1928), “Widower”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volumes X, Part 2 (V–Z), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 114, column 1.