wid|ow

wid|ow «WIHD oh», noun, verb, adjective.

–n.

1. a) a woman whose husband is dead and who has not married again. SYNONYM(S): relict. b) Figurative. a woman whose husband spends much time away for her pursuing his own interests: »

Much to the disgust of “football widows” of the Western world, already glutted airwaves will carry more legitimate and pseudo sports (Maclean's).

2. a hand, or group of cards, not dealt to any player but capable of being used by a player who bids for it.

3. Printing. a word or group of words constituting less than a full line at the head of a column or page, generally considered to be typographically undesirable before widespread use of computer typesetting.

–v.t.

1. to make a widow or (rarely) widower of: »

She was widowed when she was only thirty years old.

2. Figurative. to deprive (of a valuable or highly prized possession, whether person, thing, or quality).

3. Obsolete. a) to survive as a widow. b) to endow with a widow's right.

–adj.

that is a widow; widowed.

╂[Old English widewe, or widuwe]