grass widow

noun

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

grass widow

noun

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

Other Words From

• grasswidow·hood noun

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

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

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.

Example Sentences

“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 Seattle Times

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 Seattle Times

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 New York Times

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg