PANORTHU-L Archives

From: "Nelson R. Sulouff" <>
Subject: Re: [PANORTHU-L] Grass Widow
Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 20:20:40 -0600

Penny Kulbacki wrote:
>
> Does anyone know what a "Grass Widow" is? That name was on a census
> list.
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According to Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary "grass widow" is
a term dating back to 1528. It was used colloquially for a range of
meanings, with the basic meaning being a woman who had lost her man,
either husband or lover, through circumstances other than his death. On
one hand this could be due to divorce or separation, or to some extended
absence of the husband from the home; and on the other hand it could
signify a discarded mistress or a woman living with her illegitimate
child. Local custom and context would alone determine precisely what was
intended by the term "grass widow" in a census listing.

Sixty years ago in Northumberland I once heard the term "grass widow"
used sympathetically of a woman whose husband was in jail. In that same
community one might have heard a wife remark tongue-in-cheek that she
"felt like a grass widow" as long as her husband was unsuccessful during
the deer hunting season. Since the advent of TV, I have heard wives
express the same feeling on Sundays during the football season.

Nelson R. Sulouf

This thread:

• [PANORTHU-L] Grass Widow by Penny Kulbacki <>

  • Re: [PANORTHU-L] Grass Widow by "Nelson R. Sulouff" <>