gold star wife

English

WOTD – 5 April 2021

Etymology

A World War II-era service flag. The gold star indicates that the family displaying the flag had a relative in the United States armed forces killed in action, while the blue stars indicate two relatives on active duty.

From gold star (“(attributively) relative of a United States soldier when the latter has been killed in action”) + wife. Gold star refers to stars of that colour traditionally shown on service flags displayed by families of members of the U.S. armed forces.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɡəʊld stɑː ˈwaɪf/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌɡoʊld stɑɹ ˈwaɪf/
• Rhymes: -aɪf

Noun

gold star wife (plural gold star wives)

1. (US military) The widow of a member of the United States armed forces who was killed in action.

Hypernyms

• military widow

Coordinate terms

• blue star wife
• gold star family
• gold star father
• gold star mother
• gold star parent

 

Translations

widow of a member of the United States armed forces who was killed in action

See also

• Gold Star

Further reading

• Gold Star Wives of America on Wikipedia.Wikipedia