What does Dowager mean?
Definitions for Dowager
ˈdaʊ ə dʒərdowa·ger
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Dowager.
Princeton's WordNet
dowagernoun
a widow holding property received from her deceased husband
Wiktionary
dowagernoun
A widow holding property or title derived from her late husband.
dowagernoun
Any lady of dignified bearing.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Dowagernoun
Etymology: douairiere, French.
She lingers my desires,
Like to a stepdame or a dowager,
Long wintering on a young man’s revenue. William Shakespeare.Widows have a greater interest in property than either maids or wives; so that it is as unnatural for a dowager as a freeholder to be an enemy to our constitution. Joseph Addison, Freehold.
Catharine no more
Shall be call’d queen; but princess dowager,
And widow to prince Arthur. William Shakespeare, Henry VIII.
ChatGPT
dowager
A dowager is a widow who holds a title or property derived from her deceased husband. Traditionally, the term is used to refer to an elderly woman of high social status, particularly one who is dignified, dignitaries, or members of the nobility.
Webster Dictionary
Dowagernoun
a widow endowed, or having a jointure; a widow who either enjoys a dower from her deceased husband, or has property of her own brought by her to her husband on marriage, and settled on her after his decease
Dowagernoun
a title given in England to a widow, to distinguish her from the wife of her husband's heir bearing the same name; -- chiefly applied to widows of personages of rank
Etymology: [OF. douagiere, fr. douage dower. See Dower.]
Wikidata
Dowager
A dowager is a widow who holds a title or property, or dower, derived from her deceased husband. As an adjective, "dowager" usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles. In loose popular usage, dowager as a stand-alone noun may be used to refer to any elderly widow, especially one who is wealthy or behaves with dignity.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Dowager
dow′a-jėr, n. a widow with a dower or jointure: a title given to a widow to distinguish her from the wife of her husband's heir. [O. Fr. douagere—Low L. dotarium—L. dotāre, to endow.]
Etymology and Origins
Dowager
The widow of a person of high rank, because she enjoyed a substantial dower or dowry for her maintenance during life.
Matched Categories
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
- [["1579","1"],["1642","1"],["1648","1"],["1649","1"],["1657","2"],["1675","1"],["1679","1"],["1707","1"],["1715","1"],["1718","2"],["1723","1"],["1728","1"],["1732","3"],["1733","1"],["1734","1"],["1736","1"],["1737","2"],["1738","4"],["1740","6"],["1742","2"],["1743","1"],["1744","2"],["1746","17"],["1747","20"],["1748","1"],["1749","6"],["1750","31"],["1751","3"],["1752","49"],["1753","26"],["1754","45"],["1755","74"],["1756","14"],["1757","35"],["1758","129"],["1759","141"],["1760","155"],["1761","153"],["1762","117"],["1763","111"],["1764","61"],["1765","96"],["1766","85"],["1767","125"],["1768","70"],["1769","81"],["1770","80"],["1771","71"],["1772","26"],["1773","127"],["1774","27"],["1775","177"],["1776","88"],["1777","118"],["1778","80"],["1779","83"],["1780","119"],["1781","36"],["1782","189"],["1783","68"],["1784","60"],["1785","43"],["1786","108"],["1787","67"],["1788","97"],["1789","372"],["1790","118"],["1791","171"],["1792","195"],["1793","144"],["1794","136"],["1795","199"],["1796","158"],["1797","157"],["1798","234"],["1799","134"],["1800","227"],["1801","203"],["1802","375"],["1803","324"],["1804","324"],["1805","477"],["1806","442"],["1807","446"],["1808","294"],["1809","411"],["1810","651"],["1811","572"],["1812","447"],["1813","456"],["1814","380"],["1815","329"],["1816","251"],["1817","334"],["1818","729"],["1819","481"],["1820","551"],["1821","619"],["1822","664"],["1823","663"],["1824","919"],["1825","1141"],["1826","876"],["1827","993"],["1828","568"],["1829","521"],["1830","559"],["1831","750"],["1832","521"],["1833","590"],["1834","685"],["1835","572"],["1836","705"],["1837","1053"],["1838","708"],["1839","805"],["1840","1400"],["1841","792"],["1842","711"],["1843","739"],["1844","822"],["1845","1085"],["1846","915"],["1847","980"],["1848","858"],["1849","815"],["1850","985"],["1851","1083"],["1852","1374"],["1853","920"],["1854","1263"],["1855","996"],["1856","1035"],["1857","1847"],["1858","733"],["1859","666"],["1860","640"],["1861","1165"],["1862","460"],["1863","581"],["1864","838"],["1865","800"],["1866","782"],["1867","701"],["1868","675"],["1869","557"],["1870","462"],["1871","503"],["1872","465"],["1873","878"],["1874","695"],["1875","640"],["1876","626"],["1877","649"],["1878","649"],["1879","684"],["1880","831"],["1881","589"],["1882","741"],["1883","1204"],["1884","853"],["1885","741"],["1886","405"],["1887","464"],["1888","456"],["1889","502"],["1890","483"],["1891","796"],["1892","697"],["1893","647"],["1894","482"],["1895","838"],["1896","742"],["1897","721"],["1898","650"],["1899","1204"],["1900","2052"],["1901","1445"],["1902","1439"],["1903","1071"],["1904","1066"],["1905","913"],["1906","1169"],["1907","781"],["1908","851"],["1909","642"],["1910","1026"],["1911","1020"],["1912","861"],["1913","717"],["1914","443"],["1915","464"],["1916","617"],["1917","454"],["1918","876"],["1919","644"],["1920","814"],["1921","444"],["1922","476"],["1923","440"],["1924","534"],["1925","496"],["1926","476"],["1927","590"],["1928","777"],["1929","546"],["1930","572"],["1931","536"],["1932","569"],["1933","312"],["1934","991"],["1935","605"],["1936","914"],["1937","540"],["1938","489"],["1939","411"],["1940","432"],["1941","378"],["1942","323"],["1943","264"],["1944","377"],["1945","279"],["1946","489"],["1947","610"],["1948","780"],["1949","593"],["1950","649"],["1951","576"],["1952","721"],["1953","545"],["1954","579"],["1955","607"],["1956","829"],["1957","572"],["1958","673"],["1959","627"],["1960","670"],["1961","2166"],["1962","1065"],["1963","798"],["1964","1244"],["1965","1178"],["1966","1461"],["1967","1596"],["1968","1521"],["1969","1781"],["1970","2456"],["1971","1506"],["1972","1380"],["1973","1827"],["1974","1197"],["1975","1840"],["1976","1103"],["1977","1268"],["1978","1276"],["1979","1526"],["1980","1516"],["1981","1797"],["1982","1310"],["1983","1708"],["1984","1601"],["1985","1595"],["1986","2048"],["1987","1755"],["1988","2262"],["1989","2046"],["1990","3049"],["1991","2793"],["1992","4148"],["1993","3601"],["1994","3482"],["1995","3456"],["1996","2987"],["1997","2722"],["1998","3762"],["1999","5016"],["2000","5310"],["2001","4217"],["2002","5123"],["2003","5316"],["2004","5920"],["2005","4616"],["2006","5487"],["2007","7055"],["2008","14502"]]
Anagrams for Dowager »
wordage
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of Dowager in Chaldean Numerology is: 1
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of Dowager in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for Dowager
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
Get even more translations for Dowager »
Translation
Find a translation for the Dowager definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Dowager." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 17 Mar. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Dowager>.
Discuss these Dowager definitions with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In