the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous forms of address or title > [noun] > title > for a woman > widowed (2)
Prefixed to the surname or (occasionally) first name of a widow (sense 1a). Now archaic and only in the names of literary or theatrical characters.
A widow, especially a French or French-speaking one. Often (usually with capital initial) preceding a name; sometimes preceded by the or la.