dowager

[ dou-uh-jer ]
/ ˈdaʊ ə dʒər /

noun

a woman who holds some title or property from her deceased husband, especially the widow of a king, duke, etc. (often used as an additional title to differentiate her from the wife of the present king, duke, etc.): a queen dowager; an empress dowager.
an elderly woman of stately dignity, especially one of elevated social position: a wealthy dowager.

adjective

noting, pertaining to, or characteristic of a dowager: the dowager duchess; to prefer a dowager style of dress.

Origin of dowager

1520–30; < Middle French douag(i)ere, equivalent to douage dower (see endow, -age) + -iere, feminine of -ier -ier2

OTHER WORDS FROM dowager

dow·a·ger·ism, noun

Example sentences from the Web for dowager

British Dictionary definitions for dowager

dowager
/ (ˈdaʊədʒə) /

noun

  1. a widow possessing property or a title obtained from her husband
  2. (as modifier)the dowager duchess
a wealthy or dignified elderly woman

Word Origin for dowager

C16: from Old French douagiere, from douage dower