Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Widowhood \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.

Source : WordNet®

widowhood
     n 1: the time of a woman's life when she is a widow
     2: the state of being a widow who has not remarried