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Widow
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Widow
A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died and has not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjective for either sex is widowed. These terms are not applied to a divorcé(e) following the death of an ex-spouse.
The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood. The term widowhood can be used for either sex, at least according to some dictionaries, but the word widowerhood is also listed in some dictionaries. An archaic term for a widow is "relict", literally "someone left over"; this word can sometimes be found on older gravestones. Occasionally, the word viduity is used.
The increased mortality rate after the death of a spouse is called the widowhood effect. It is "strongest during the first three months after a spouse's death, when they had a 66-percent increased chance of dying". There remains controversy over whether women or men are worse off, and studies have attempted to make each case, while others suggest there are no sex differences.
While it is disputed as to whether sex plays a part in the intensity of grief, sex often influences how a person's lifestyle changes after a spouse's death. Research has shown that the difference falls in the burden of care, expectations, and how they react after the spouse's death. For example, women often carry more of an emotional burden than men and are less willing to go through the death of another spouse. After being widowed, men and women may react very differently and frequently change their lifestyles. Women tend to miss their husbands more if they died suddenly; men tend to miss their wives more if they died after suffering a long terminal illness. In addition, both men and women have been observed to experience lifestyle habit changes after the death of a spouse. Both sexes tend to have a harder time looking after themselves without their spouse to help, though these changes may differ based on the sex of the widow and the role the spouse played in their life.
The older spouses grow, the more aware they are of being alone due to the death of their husband or wife. This negatively impacts the mental as well as physical well-being in both men and women.
In some parts of Europe and Latin America, including Russia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Mexico, widows used to wear black for the rest of their lives to signify their mourning, a practice that has largely died out. Orthodox Christian immigrants may wear lifelong black in the United States to signify their widowhood and devotion to their deceased husband.[citation needed]
After the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856 in India, the status of widowhood for Hindu women was accompanied by a body symbolism - The widow's head was shaved as part of her mourning, she could no longer wear a red dot sindoor on her forehead, was forbidden to wear wedding jewellery, had to keep her bosoms uncovered and was expected to walk barefoot. These customs are still prevalent among some Hindus.
In some parts of South Asia, a woman is often accused of causing her husband's death and is not allowed to look at another person as her gaze is considered bad luck.
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Widow
A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died and has not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjective for either sex is widowed. These terms are not applied to a divorcé(e) following the death of an ex-spouse.
The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood. The term widowhood can be used for either sex, at least according to some dictionaries, but the word widowerhood is also listed in some dictionaries. An archaic term for a widow is "relict", literally "someone left over"; this word can sometimes be found on older gravestones. Occasionally, the word viduity is used.
The increased mortality rate after the death of a spouse is called the widowhood effect. It is "strongest during the first three months after a spouse's death, when they had a 66-percent increased chance of dying". There remains controversy over whether women or men are worse off, and studies have attempted to make each case, while others suggest there are no sex differences.
While it is disputed as to whether sex plays a part in the intensity of grief, sex often influences how a person's lifestyle changes after a spouse's death. Research has shown that the difference falls in the burden of care, expectations, and how they react after the spouse's death. For example, women often carry more of an emotional burden than men and are less willing to go through the death of another spouse. After being widowed, men and women may react very differently and frequently change their lifestyles. Women tend to miss their husbands more if they died suddenly; men tend to miss their wives more if they died after suffering a long terminal illness. In addition, both men and women have been observed to experience lifestyle habit changes after the death of a spouse. Both sexes tend to have a harder time looking after themselves without their spouse to help, though these changes may differ based on the sex of the widow and the role the spouse played in their life.
The older spouses grow, the more aware they are of being alone due to the death of their husband or wife. This negatively impacts the mental as well as physical well-being in both men and women.
In some parts of Europe and Latin America, including Russia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Mexico, widows used to wear black for the rest of their lives to signify their mourning, a practice that has largely died out. Orthodox Christian immigrants may wear lifelong black in the United States to signify their widowhood and devotion to their deceased husband.[citation needed]
After the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856 in India, the status of widowhood for Hindu women was accompanied by a body symbolism - The widow's head was shaved as part of her mourning, she could no longer wear a red dot sindoor on her forehead, was forbidden to wear wedding jewellery, had to keep her bosoms uncovered and was expected to walk barefoot. These customs are still prevalent among some Hindus.
In some parts of South Asia, a woman is often accused of causing her husband's death and is not allowed to look at another person as her gaze is considered bad luck.