Grass widow in Hindi
Meaning, Devanagari spelling and pronunciation
The meaning of “grass widow” in Hindi is परित्यक्ता विवाहिता, pronounced parityakta vivahita — it is a noun. Copy the Devanagari word above, hear how it is pronounced, and use it anywhere. To type words like this yourself, try our Hindi typing tool, or explore more words in the vocabulary sets.
a divorced woman or a woman who is separated from her husband
The word appears in the Germanic languages in different forms and senses, evidently being ancient, but the oldest (both 16th century) are English grasse wydowe and Middle Low German grasswēdewe, both meaning “girl who has lost her virginity, harlot”. Therefore “grass” in all likelihood refers to a bedding for premarital sex. Compare the expression green gown (“loss of virginity”). The girl became a “widow” in the sense that she was neither married nor a virgin. The sense then developed through “married woman who has relations in her husband’s absence” to the contemporary, softened meaning. Compare Dutch grasweduwe, Swedish gräsänka, German Strohwitwe.
Etymonline cites the book Vocabulary of East Anglia (1830) by Rev. Robert Forby, which records the term in that region as essentially referring to a woman abandoned after an informal marriage.
Quick facts about “grass widow”
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Etymonline cites the book Vocabulary of East Anglia (1830) by Rev. Robert Forby, which records the term in that region as essentially referring to a woman abandoned after an informal marriage.
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