# Widow is to Widowed as Widower is to ???? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 22, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/widow-is-to-widowed-as-widower-is-to/635498 "2012-09-22T14:52:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/widow-is-to-widowed-as-widower-is-to/635498/1 "2012-09-22T14:52:02Z")
Jane’s husband is dead. She’s a widow. Or, adjectivally, we could say she’s widowed. Dick’s wife is dead. He’s a widower. Or, adjectivally, we could say he’s… ??? “Widowered” doesn’t sound right. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/widow-is-to-widowed-as-widower-is-to/635498/2 "2012-09-22T15:06:23Z")
He’s widowed. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/widow-is-to-widowed-as-widower-is-to/635498/3 "2012-09-22T15:13:30Z")
Concur. Both are widowed. The _widow/widower_ pair is one of relatively few in English in which the feminine version is the root word and the masculine version takes a suffix. ---
**Author:** ![charmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@charmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/charmstr)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/widow-is-to-widowed-as-widower-is-to/635498/4 "2012-09-22T16:38:41Z")
Widower is an odd word in another way too. Take the sentence, “He’s a widower,” for instance. If you didn’t know the meaning, there isn’t enough context there to infer it. Based on how the English language usually works, a reasonable guess would be that the man in question was in the business of (or had the hobby of) killing husbands. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/widow-is-to-widowed-as-widower-is-to/635498/5 "2012-09-22T18:31:02Z")
Since the question has already had a serious answer, wouldn’t be more logical if the surviving spouse was the widow, and the deceased was the widower? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/widow-is-to-widowed-as-widower-is-to/635498/6 "2012-09-22T18:39:08Z")
> [@charmstr](#): > > Based on how the English language usually works, a reasonable guess would be that the man in question was in the business of (or had the hobby of) killing husbands. Not at all. It just would mean that he sells widows. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/widow-is-to-widowed-as-widower-is-to/635498/7 "2012-09-22T18:45:16Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Dick’s wife is dead. He’s a widower. Or, adjectivally, we could say he’s… ??? looking ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/widow-is-to-widowed-as-widower-is-to/635498/8 "2012-09-22T18:46:50Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Since the question has already had a serious answer, wouldn’t be more logical if the surviving spouse was the widow, and the deceased was the widower? No, since generally we have names for the statuses of living people only. In the other case of relationship with deceased people, we have the word “orphan”, but no word for the orphan’s deceased parents. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/widow-is-to-widowed-as-widower-is-to/635498/9 "2012-09-22T19:25:59Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > looking Available.