from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Widow \Wid"ow\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Widowed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Widowing}.]
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1. To reduce to the condition of a widow; to bereave of a
husband; -- rarely used except in the past participle.
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Though in thus city he
Hath widowed and unchilded many a one,
Which to this hour bewail the injury. --Shak.
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2. To deprive of one who is loved; to strip of anything
beloved or highly esteemed; to make desolate or bare; to
bereave.
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The widowed isle, in mourning,
Dries up her tears. --Dryden.
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Tress of their shriveled fruits
Are widowed, dreary storms o'er all prevail. --J.
Philips.
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Mourn, widowed queen; forgotten Sion, mourn.
--Heber.
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3. To endow with a widow's right. [R.] --Shak.
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4. To become, or survive as, the widow of. [Obs.]
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Let me be married to three kings in a forenoon, and
widow
them all. --Shak.
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