\Wid"ow*hood\, n.
1. The state of being a widow; the time during which a woman
   is widow; also, rarely, the state of being a widower.
         Johnson clung to her memory during a widowhood of
         more than thirty years.               --Leslie
                                               Stephen.
2. Estate settled on a widow. [Obs.] ``I 'll assure her of
   her widowhood . . . in all my lands.'' --Shak.