What does widow's walk mean?
Definitions for widow's walk
widow's walk
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word widow's walk.
Princeton's WordNet
widow's walknoun
a lookout atop a coastal house
Wikipedia
Widow's walk
A widow's walk, also known as a widow's watch or roofwalk, is a railed rooftop platform often having an inner cupola/turret frequently found on 19th-century North American coastal houses. The name is said to come from the wives of mariners, who would watch for their spouses' return, often in vain as the ocean took their lives, leaving the women widows. In other coastal communities, the platforms were called captain's walks, as they topped the homes of the more successful captains; supposedly, ship owners and captains would use them to search the horizon for ships due in port. However, there is little or no evidence that widow's walks were intended or regularly used to observe shipping. Widow's walks are in fact a standard decorative feature of Italianate architecture, which was very popular during the height of the Age of Sail in many North American coastal communities. The widow's walk is a variation of the Italianate cupola. The Italianate cupola, its larger instance being an archetypal belvedere, was an important ornate finish to this style, although it was often high maintenance and prone to leaks.Beyond their use as viewing platforms, they are frequently built around the chimney of the residence, thus creating access to the structure. This allows the residents of the home to pour sand down burning chimneys in the event of a chimney fire in the hope of preventing the house from burning down.
ChatGPT
widow's walk
A widow's walk, also known as widow's watch or roofwalk, is a railed rooftop platform often seen on 19th-century houses, particularly in coastal areas. Its name originated from the idea that the wives of mariners would use these platforms to look out to the sea, waiting for their husbands to return, sometimes becoming widows when their husbands didn't make it back. These platforms can also be used as observation decks or for practical purposes such as to allow for the highest safe viewpoint in case of a fire.
Wikidata
Widow's walk
A widow's walk also known as a "widow's watch" is a railed rooftop platform often with a small enclosed cupola frequently found on 19th-century North American coastal houses. A popular romantic myth holds that the platform was used to observe vessels at sea. The name is said to come from the wives of mariners, who would watch for their spouses' return, often in vain as the ocean took the lives of the mariners, leaving the women widows. In other coastal communities, the platforms were called Captain's Walk, as they topped the homes of the more successful captains; supposedly, ship owners and captains would use them to search the horizon for ships due in port. However, there is little or no evidence that widow's walks were intended or regularly used to observe shipping. Widow's walks are in fact a standard decorative feature of Italianate architecture, which was very popular during the height of the Age of Sail in many North American coastal communities. The widow's walk is a variation of the Italianate cupola. The Italianate cupola, also known as a "belvedere", was an important ornate finish to this style, although it was often high maintenance and prone to leaks.
Matched Categories
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of widow's walk in Chaldean Numerology is: 3
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of widow's walk in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5
Translations for widow's walk
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- caminhada da viúvaPortuguese
- änkas promenadSwedish
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"widow's walk." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/widow%27s+walk>.
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