dowager

/ˈdaʊədʒər/

Other forms: dowagers

A dowager is a serious-minded older woman, especially one who is a wealthy widow. In some countries, the widow of a king was historically known as the Queen dowager.

Dowager is an old-fashioned term of respect for a woman whose husband died and left her money and property, and often a title as well. The wife of a now-deceased count might have been known (and addressed) as a dowager countess, for example. In the old days, this title was useful since it distinguished a widow from the wife of the heir to her late husband's title. The heir's wife would be the duchess, while the widow would be the dowager duchess.

Definitions of dowager

1. noun

   a widow holding property received from her deceased husband
   type of:

   widow, widow woman

   a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
2. noun

   a dignified older woman, especially one who has high status or wealth
   type of:

   adult female, woman

   an adult female person (as opposed to a man)