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The Lexis of Cloth and Clothing Project
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widow's weeds

.
Searchable Lemmata: cloth (ME), widwe (ME), widow's weeds (MdE).
Alternate Forms: cloþez of wydowhede, cloþing of widuwehed, clothis of widewhod, wedow wede, widewe shrud, widewen schrud, widewes habit.

    Definitions and Defining Citations:

1(n.) Garment; widow's shroud, widow's habit, widow's weeds (also alternative formulation 'clothes of widowhood'): compound terms referring to the clothes of mourning worn by a widow. The last of these outlasted the medieval period and was in use with variation to the nineteenth century. See also weed 1.(circa 1230 - ante 1800 ?)
1. Iudith wesche hire & despulede hire of widewene [Nero: widewe; Pep: widewen] schrud. Ecclesiastic/Regula. [MED Ancr. ((Corp-C 402) 155/9) circa 1230]
2. Among thise othere folk was Criseyda, In widewes habit blak. Romance. [MED Chaucer TC ((Benson-Robinson) 1.170) circa 1385]
3. Hyr wedow wedes scho layd away. Biblical/Hagiographic. Cf. 17707: Furth sho weryd hyr wedow wede. [MED MOTest. ((SeldSup 52) 1081) ante 1425]
ME.
Sex: Female    Ceremonial: No
Body Parts:

    Etymological Evidence:

Definite, compound of widow (sometimes in adjectival form widewen) + shroud, habit, weed(s) (qqv.).
WF: Compound
Etym Cog: widwe-shroud; clothes of widwehede.
References:
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