Middle English widewer, variant of widow widow, widower, from Old English wuduwa widower; similar to the widow Wuduwe in Old English The «widow» or «widower» of the author is the surviving spouse of the author under the law of the author`s domicile at the time of death, whether or not the spouse subsequently remarried. n. a woman whose husband died while married to him and who has not married since. A divorced woman whose ex-husband dies is not a widow, except for the purposes of certain social security benefits that can be traced back to the ex-husband. A woman whose husband died and did not remarrie. The «king`s widow» was the one whose deceased husband had been the king`s tenant as capite; She could not remarry without royal permission.