widow's walk
1
9.5
- noun
- /ˈwɪdoʊz wɔk/
- US
:
mirador de viuda
- The house features a beautiful widow's walk that offers a stunning view of the ocean.
Examples
-
Pass through that bedroom and you come to another, Henry knew: the guest room with the canopy bed and an iron spiral staircase that led to a widow's walk.
Fiction book (2000) -
A widow's walk would increase the value of the property.
-
And from the widow's walk, sunsets are quite beautiful.
-
The most interesting original details were her cupola and widow's walk on the top of the house.
Fiction book (2000) -
There was a widow's walk on top, railed in black.
Fiction book (2001) -
The widow's walk afforded a box view of their argument.
Fiction book (1996) -
Once, I thought I heard footsteps pacing the widow's walk.
Fiction book (1999) -
Behind the sign stood a white frame house with cupolas, a widow's walk, weather vanes, and lightning rods.
Fiction book (1993) -
From the widow's walk, she watched the ships leave the harbor at sunset.
-
He enjoyed sitting on the widow's walk, taking in the fresh sea breeze every evening.
Surface Forms
Morphology
widow's + walk
The meaning 'a railed roof platform for watching ships' cannot be directly inferred from 'widow's' (a woman whose spouse died) and the basic sense of 'walk' (a route or stroll). The term depends on cultural/historical background and a specialized architectural sense of 'walk' that is not predictable from the constituents, so learners who know the words would likely not derive the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Widow's walk comes from old houses by the sea where a small railed platform on the roof let people 'watch' for boats; wives often stood there hoping for their husbands, and if a boat was lost they became widows, so the roof spot was called a widow's walk. That's why today widow's walk means a roof platform used to look out over the sea.