Meanings
plural grass widowers
- A married man whose spouse is away.First known use 19th c.
“I shall be a gay grass widower for the next two months—wife’s gone for a holiday to the West Indies.”
1914 February 25, A.T. Smith, Punch, page 1462 more examples
"I wonder if there is a single person in the Stewartry that Campbell didn't have a row with," thought Wimsey, and made an addition to his list:— 6. John Ferguson—about 36—about 5 foot 10 inches—grass widower.
1931, Dorothy L. Sayers, The Five Red HerringsShe was generous with her offers to introduce Edith to various grass-widowers of her acquaintance – ‘my cast-offs’, as she laughingly referred to them […].
1984, Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac, Penguin, published 2016, page 57
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From grass + widower, after grass widow.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Danish græsenkemand
- græsenkemanda married man whose wife is away
Finnish kesäleski
- kesäleskia married man whose wife is away
German Strohwitwer
- Strohwitwera married man whose wife is away
Hungarian szalmaözvegy
- szalmaözvegya married man whose wife is away
Norwegian Bokmål gressenkemann
- gressenkemanna married man whose wife is away
Polish słomiany wdowiec
- słomiany wdowieca married man whose wife is away
Swedish gräsänkling, gräsänkeman
- gräsänklinga married man whose wife is away
- gräsänkemana married man whose wife is away
Cite this entry
grass widower. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grass%20widower
“grass widower.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grass%20widower. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “grass widower,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grass%20widower.
Source: grass widower on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.