Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

merry-widow

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.64 in modern English

Syllables
mer-ry-wid-ow
IPA
22
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To swirl around dancing a romantic or flamboyant waltz.

Obsolete

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Franz Lehár's popular 1905 operetta The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe); the romantic centerpiece is a sweeping, hypnotic waltz where the two main characters dance together because they are too stubborn to admit their love out loud.

Usage

Inflected Forms

merry-widows (present, singular) merry-widowing (participle, present) merry-widowed (participle, past) merry-widowed (past)

Questions

What does merry-widow mean?
To swirl around dancing a romantic or flamboyant waltz.
Where does merry-widow come from?
From Franz Lehár's popular 1905 operetta The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe); the romantic centerpiece is a sweeping, hypnotic waltz where the two main characters dance together because they are too stubborn to admit their love out loud.

How to pronounce merry-widow

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “merry-widow”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “merry-widow”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “merry-widow” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.