Wordwyrt

widower

/ˈwɪdəʊə/WIH-doh-ur
/ˈwɪdoʊɚ/WIH-doh-ur

Meaningone who is widowed

Common meaning: a man whose wife has died

Journey through time

  1. Old Englishwidwe‘widow’sourceB&T
  2. Middle Englishwidewesource
  3. Englishwidow‘a woman whose husband has died’
  4. Englishformed in English from widowwidower‘a man whose wife has died’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from widow + -er.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), WIDOW, p.710 · scan

Source words

  • widwe Old English · source word “widow”

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