(no subject)

[camwyn]

Language usage question:

If two guys are married, and one guy dies, is the remaining guy considered a widow, a widower, or some other word with less gender-specific associations? The question also applies to two women being married but it came up in the context of discussing Steve Cortez, an NPC in Mass Effect 3 whose husband died sometime before the game began.

Comments

[ymfaery]

Is bereaved an option?

[neotoma]

I don't see why 'widower' wouldn't work. A widower is a man whose spouse has died, and a widow is a woman whose spouse has died; the gender of the word is dependent on the gender of the person who it is being applied to.

[cameoflage]

This is also the call I would make.