grass widow

noun

a woman who is separated, divorced, or lives apart from her husband.
a woman whose husband is away from home frequently or for a long time, as on business or to pursue a sport or hobby.
Archaic.��
1. a discarded mistress.
2. a woman who has borne an illegitimate child.

grass widow

noun

a woman divorced, separated, or living away from her spouse
a woman whose spouse is regularly away for short periods

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Other Word Forms

grasswidowhood noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of grass widow¹

1520–30; the first element perhaps originally alluding to a bed of grass, hay, or the like; compare Dutch grasweduwe, German Strohwittwe literally, straw-widow

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Word History and Origins

Origin of grass widow¹

C16, meaning a discarded mistress: perhaps an allusion to a grass bed as representing an illicit relationship; compare _bastard ; C19 in the modern sense

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Idioms and Phrases

A woman who is separated from her husband, either by divorce or temporary absence. For example, She's a grass widow these days, with Herb traveling to golf tournaments all over the country. The expression dates from the 16th century, when it referred to the mother of an illegitimate child, grass presumably alluding to the open-air setting of the child's conception.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“There’s grass widows, yellow bells, spring gold and many species of desert parsley bloom in the spring, including the vibrant purple-red Columbia desert parsley.”

From

The conservancy maintains miles of pathways inside the ranch and at Cowiche Canyon Uplands, with shrub-steppe habitat zones for stunning spring-summer wildflower shows of prairie star flower, grass widow and other ornaments.

From

Though he is frequently on the road — making Eve, in one of the novel’s rich vernacular details, a “grass widow” — he disdains Leon at home.

From

There were one or two soldiers on leave; there was a Cambridge don; there were three grass widows.

From

Mary," he said, looking at her sternly, "if you neglect me this way again I shall go off and marry a grass widow.

From

grass up grass widower

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