widder

• Rhymes: -ɪdə(ɹ)

widder (plural widders)

1. (dialectal) Alternative spelling of widow.
   • 1858, Various, The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 2, Number 9, July, 1858‎^[1]:

     At the sewing- society the matter was fully discussed. Mrs. Greenfield, the doctor's wife, admitted that it would be an excellent match, "jest a child apiece, both on 'em well brought up, used to good company, and all that; but, land's sakes! he, with his mint o' money, a'n't a-goin' to marry a poor widder that ha'n't got nothin' but her husband's pictur' and her boy,--not he!"

   • 1884, William O. Stoddard, Dab Kinzer‎^[2]:

     And then, before the public mind had become sufficiently settled to inquire into the matter, the rumor changed itself into a piece of positive news:-- "The widder Kinzer's moved over into Ham's house, bag and baggage."

   • 1901, Charles W. Chesnutt, The Marrow of Tradition‎^[3]:

     She wuz a widder fer de secon' time, an' didn' have no child'en, an' could jes' as well come as not. "

   • 1909 January, Grace MacGowan Cooke, “The Flight of Robert Sevier: Relating How, When, and Where He Flew”, in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine‎^[4], volume 83, number 491, page 35:

     "I'm a widder," asserted Taylor Gannon's relict, somewhat superfluously. "My man has done left me to do for myse'f as best I can. I kept the re-sort alone for six year. I have shore sawn some curious things when these here town folks comes up. But I want to say here an' now that, as a wife an' widder, I have never sawn nothing to compare with what's agoin' on in this place sence Perfesser Sevier come." The other woman straightened herself up from where she sat limply in her chair, and a gleam came into her faded eyes. "You don't mean to tell me that that there town feller is a-courtin' you a'ready!" she said with some animation. "I ain't plumb shore," replied the widow cautiously. Such an idea had never occurred to her, yet to decline the glory of it would be beyond even such strong feminine nature as this.

   • 1920, Marie Conway Oemler, The Purple Heights‎^[5]:

     I wouldn't like the missus to be a widder: she's too darn good-lookin'."

   • 1958, Robert W. Service, Ballads of a Bohemian‎^[6]:

     There was five of us lads from the brickyard; 'Enry was gassed at Bapome,
     Sydney was drowned in a crater, 'Erbert was 'alved by a shell;
     Joe was the pick o' the posy, might 'a bin sifely at 'ome,
     Only son of 'is mother, 'er a widder as well.

• wier, weer (western Ripuarian)

From Old High German widar, from Proto-Germanic *wiþer.

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋidʌ/

widder (not comparable)

1. (eastern and central dialects) again; another time; once more

   Dä Aal wor krank, ävver jetz es e widder jot drop.

   The old man was sick, but now he’s fine again.

• erem (western Moselle Franconian)
• werm (western Ripuarian)

Compare German wieder, Dutch weer.

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɪdɐ/

widder (not comparable)

1. again