Widow

Japanese: やもめ

Originally, the word "yamo" was written as "wa" or "dofu" in the "Nihon Shoki" and other texts, meaning a woman who had lost her husband or a single woman without a husband, and a man who had lost his wife was called "yamoo" and was written as "mo". On the other hand, as in the proverb "Flowers bloom for a widow, maggots swarm for a widow", the word "yamo" can refer to both men and women, and can also be used to refer to someone who remains single and does not marry. This article describes those who have lost their spouse and have not remarried.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

元来，〈やもめ〉の語は《日本書紀》などには寡，寡婦の字があてられ，夫をなくした女，夫のない独身の女を意味し，妻をなくした男は〈やもお〉と呼ばれ，鰥の字があてられた。一方，〈女やもめに花が咲く，男やもめに蛆（うじ）がわく〉という諺にみられるように，〈やもめ〉という言葉は男女双方をさすこともあり，また，結婚せずに独身を通す者に対して用いられることもある。本項目では，配偶者を失って，その後再婚しないでいる者について記述する。

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