*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of widow

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 Engli

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
verb

To make a widow or widower of someone; to cause the death of the spouse of. · To strip of anything valued. · To endow with a widow's right. · To be widow to.

noun

A woman whose spouse (traditionally husband) has died (and who has not remarried); a woman in relation to her late spouse; feminine of widower. · Any person whose spouse has died (and who has not remarried). · A woman whose husband is often away pursuing a hobby, career, etc. · An additional hand of playing cards dealt face-down in some card games, to be used by the highest bidder.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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 widwe, 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. Cognates Cognate with Scots weedae, wedow, widdow (“widow”), Cimbrian bittaba (“widow”), Dutch weduwe, weeuw (“widow”), German Witwe (“widow”), Vilamovian wytwa (“widow”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌳𐌿𐍅𐍉 (widuwō, “widow”), Old Irish fedb (“widow”), Welsh gweddw (“widow”), Asturian and Spanish viuda (“widow”), Aragonese and Latin vidua (“widow”), Catalan vídua (“widow”), French veuve (“widow”), Galician and Portuguese viúva (“widow”), Italian vedova (“widow”), Romanian văduvă (“widow”), Ancient Greek ἠΐθεος (ēḯtheos, “bachelor”), Albanian ve (“widow, widower”), Belarusian удава́ (udavá, “widow”), Czech, Slovak, and Slovene vdova (“widow”), Polish gdowa, wdowa (“widow”), Russian and Ukrainian вдова́ (vdová, “widow”), Serbo-Croatian udova, у̀дова (“widow”), Central Kurdish بێوە (bêwe, “widow”), Ossetian идӕдз (idæʒ, “widowed”), Persian بیوه (bive, bêva, “widow”), Sanskrit विधवा (vidhavā, “widow”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:widwe",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *dwóh₁\nProto-Indo-European *dwi-\nProto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-\nProto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁-\nProto-Indo-European *h₁widʰéwh₂\nProto-Germanic *widuwǭ\nProto-West Germanic *widuwā\nOld English widuwe\nMiddle English widwe\nEnglish widow\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*widuwǭ\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*widuwā\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"widuwe\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"widwe\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"widow\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"widow\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "dercat",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "langname",
      "args": {
        "1": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European"
    },
    {
      "name": "word",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine",
        "3": "dwóh₁",
        "id": ""
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "PIE word",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dwóh₁"
      },
      "expansion": "PIE word\n *dwóh₁"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "widwe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English widwe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "widuwe",
        "4": "",
        "5": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English widuwe (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*widuwā",
        "4": "",
        "5": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *widuwā (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*widuwǭ",
        "4": "",
        "5": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *widuwǭ (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₁widʰéwh₂",
        "4": "",
        "5": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₁widʰéwh₂ (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "widu"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English widu"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "weedae"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots weedae"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cim",
        "2": "bittaba",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Cimbrian bittaba (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "weduwe"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch weduwe"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Witwe",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "German Witwe (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "wym",
        "2": "wytwa",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Vilamovian wytwa (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐍅𐌹𐌳𐌿𐍅𐍉",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌳𐌿𐍅𐍉 (widuwō, “widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sga",
        "2": "fedb",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Irish fedb (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cy",
        "2": "gweddw",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh gweddw (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ast",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Asturian"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "es",
        "2": "viuda",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Spanish viuda (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "an",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Aragonese"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "vidua",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin vidua (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ca",
        "2": "vídua",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Catalan vídua (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "veuve",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "French veuve (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gl",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Galician"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "pt",
        "2": "viúva",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Portuguese viúva (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "it",
        "2": "vedova",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian vedova (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ro",
        "2": "văduvă",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Romanian văduvă (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "ἠΐθεος",
        "3": "",
        "4": "bachelor"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek ἠΐθεος (ēḯtheos, “bachelor”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "ve",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow, widower"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian ve (“widow, widower”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "be",
        "2": "удава́",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Belarusian удава́ (udavá, “widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cs",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Czech"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sk",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Slovak"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sl",
        "2": "vdova",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Slovene vdova (“widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "pl",
        "2": "gdowa"
      },
      "expansion": "Polish gdowa"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ru",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Russian"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "uk",
        "2": "вдова́",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Ukrainian вдова́ (vdová, “widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sh",
        "2": "udova"
      },
      "expansion": "Serbo-Croatian udova"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ckb",
        "2": "بێوە",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Central Kurdish بێوە (bêwe, “widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "os",
        "2": "идӕдз",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widowed"
      },
      "expansion": "Ossetian идӕдз (idæʒ, “widowed”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fa",
        "2": "بیوه",
        "tr": "bive, bêva",
        "t": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Persian بیوه (bive, bêva, “widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "विधवा",
        "3": "",
        "4": "widow"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit विधवा (vidhavā, “widow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:widwe",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *dwóh₁\nProto-Indo-European *dwi-\nProto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-\nProto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁-\nProto-Indo-European *h₁widʰéwh₂\nProto-Germanic *widuwǭ\nProto-West Germanic *widuwā\nOld English widuwe\nMiddle English widwe\nEnglish widow"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*dwóh₁",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dwóh₁#Proto-Indo-European:_two"
    ],
    [
      "*dwi-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dwi-#Proto-Indo-European:_two"
    ],
    [
      "*dʰeh₁-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dʰeh₁-#Proto-Indo-European:_do"
    ],
    [
      "*h₁weydʰh₁-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁weydʰh₁-"
    ],
    [
      "*h₁widʰéwh₂",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁widʰéwh₂"
    ],
    [
      "*widuwǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/widuwǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*widuwā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/widuwā"
    ],
    [
      "widuwe",
      "widuwe#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "widwe",
      "widwe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "*dwóh₁",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dwóh₁"
    ],
    [
      "widwe",
      "widwe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "widuwe",
      "widuwe#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*widuwā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/widuwā"
    ],
    [
      "*widuwǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/widuwǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*h₁widʰéwh₂",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁widʰéwh₂"
    ],
    [
      "*h₁weydʰh₁-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁weydʰh₁-"
    ],
    [
      "*widʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/weydʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "wood",
      "wood#English"
    ],
    [
      "widu",
      "widu#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "wudu",
      "wudu#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "weedae",
      "weedae#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "wedow",
      "wedow#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "widdow",
      "widdow#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "bittaba",
      "bittaba#Cimbrian"
    ],
    [
      "weduwe",
      "weduwe#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "weeuw",
      "weeuw#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Witwe",
      "Witwe#German"
    ],
    [
      "wytwa",
      "wytwa#Vilamovian"
    ],
    [
      "𐍅𐌹𐌳𐌿𐍅𐍉",
      "𐍅𐌹𐌳𐌿𐍅𐍉#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "fedb",
      "fedb#Old_Irish"
    ],
    [
      "gweddw",
      "gweddw#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "viuda",
      "viuda#Spanish"
    ],
    [
      "vidua",
      "vidua#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "vídua",
      "vídua#Catalan"
    ],
    [
      "veuve",
      "veuve#French"
    ],
    [
      "viúva",
      "viúva#Portuguese"
    ],
    [
      "vedova",
      "vedova#Italian"
    ],
    [
      "văduvă",
      "văduvă#Romanian"
    ],
    [
      "ἠΐθεος",
      "ἠΐθεος#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "ve",
      "ve#Albanian"
    ],
    [
      "удава́",
      "удава#Belarusian"
    ],
    [
      "vdova",
      "vdova#Slovene"
    ],
    [
      "gdowa",
      "gdowa#Polish"
    ],
    [
      "wdowa",
      "wdowa#Polish"
    ],
    [
      "вдова́",
      "вдова#Ukrainian"
    ],
    [
      "udova",
      "udova#Serbo-Croatian"
    ],
    [
      "у̀дова",
      "удова#Serbo-Croatian"
    ],
    [
      "بێوە",
      "بێوە#Central_Kurdish"
    ],
    [
      "идӕдз",
      "идӕдз#Ossetian"
    ],
    [
      "بیوه",
      "بیوه#Persian"
    ],
    [
      "विधवा",
      "विधवा#Sanskrit"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To make a widow or widower of someone; to cause the death of the spouse of.",
        "To strip of anything valued.",
        "To endow with a widow's right.",
        "To be widow to."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "figuratively",
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "6caecbc62e99d220c3111e745e55cd3efb75218cd395ad637c25525fef1eff3c",
      "rawRecordSha256": "1ef10f928ad05fb0eec706e750521629a7506ae6428a417ec65cc7f7752471b0",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 290804
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A woman whose spouse (traditionally husband) has died (and who has not remarried); a woman in relation to her late spouse; feminine of widower.",
        "Any person whose spouse has died (and who has not remarried).",
        "A woman whose husband is often away pursuing a hobby, career, etc.",
        "An additional hand of playing cards dealt face-down in some card games, to be used by the highest bidder."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncommon",
        "broadly",
        "humorous",
        "in-compounds",
        "informal",
        "often",
        "sarcastic"
      ],
      "recordId": "c5ec34352b3e23ecbd6f8063dcb9e1c9e05ab0e572f35e9db0b679176281b0d9",
      "rawRecordSha256": "df5f95063654bc1ec568d3fad10a144302764022af4e458377019553ceebca2b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 290803
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 2,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for widow →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-d2lkb3c