war widow
2
2.8
- noun
- /wɔr ˈwɪdoʊ/
:
viuda de guerra
- After losing her husband in combat, she became a war widow and struggled to provide for her family.
- a young war widow
Examples
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The black cloaks of the women indicate that they are probably war widows struggling to exist on state-sponsored pensions.
Academic text (1997) -
The dead of the Second World War are buried in exactly the same manner as those of the First, and today the only demand met by the government regarding burial policy is that war widows should be assisted with travel costs in visiting their husbands' graves.
Academic text (1997) -
It's from a war widow with two small children.
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In 1919, he married his nurse, a young Scottish war widow with a small child.
Academic text (2010) -
The war widow who spoke was one of a party in which all had lost their husbands fifty years before.
Academic text (1997) -
Martha was a war widow who lived in Quail Ridge, a town away.
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Nevertheless, this court has taken into consideration the fact that you're very young and, regrettably enough, you are a war widow.
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She's a war widow.
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In the Eastern Province, there are 42,565 war widows, according to the Child Development and Women's Affairs Ministry.
Blog text (29) -
Women like her are in constant search for a sustainable source of livelihood, and clearly, war widows in Sri Lanka can benefit from a structured employment program tailored to their needs.
Blog text (29)
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'war' (armed conflict) + 'widow' (a woman whose husband has died), so a learner who knows both words can infer this refers to a woman whose husband died because of war. This noun–noun compound follows a common, cross-linguistic pattern making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
War widow comes from wartime life: when a woman's husband died while serving in the war, she was called a war widow and often received special help or pay. That's why war widow now means a woman whose husband died as a result of serving in war.