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Widow

Printing
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A short final line of a paragraph left alone at the top of a page. Printers often avoid widows through page adjustment.

Detailed Definition
A widow is a line stranded at the top of a page after the rest of its paragraph appears on the preceding page. The term is most often used in prose composition, but related page-break problems matter in poetry as well, particularly in notes, introductions, and prose poems. A printer or designer may alter spacing, leading, or page breaks to prevent the isolated line. Avoiding widows helps preserve visual balance and keeps textual units from appearing accidentally broken.
Example
Example in poetry:
A widow occurs when the last line of a stanza or paragraph is stranded alone at the top of the next page; If a single concluding line of a poem appears on a new page, a designer may revise spacing to avoid the widow; A widow can weaken the visual unity of a tightly shaped poem by separating its final line from the rest; A poet reviewing page proofs may ask the printer to move one earlier line so that a stanza does not end in a widow
Additional Notes
A widow is an isolated final line at the top of a new page, creating an awkward visual break. Designers may revise spacing, line breaks, or page composition to prevent it.
Also Known As
Widow Line
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