widow

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “widow” in English is translated in West Kewa as ona wasa or “woman shadow.” (Source: Karl J. Franklin in Notes on Translation 70/1978, pp. 13ff.)

The etymological meaning of the Hebrew almanah (אַלְמָנָה) is likely “pain, ache,” the Greek chéra (χήρα) is likely “to leave behind,” “abandon,” and the English widow (as well as related terms in languages such as Dutch, German, Sanskrit, Welsh, or Persian) is “to separate,” “divide” (source: Wiktionary).

See also widows.

Translation commentary on Sirach 35:17

He will not ignore the supplication of the fatherless, nor the widow when she pours out her story: The Greek word translated fatherless can mean that, but it can also mean “orphan,” one who has lost both mother and father. The Hebrew more generally refers to someone who has lost a father. Widows and orphans are often mentioned together in the Old Testament; presumably they have lost the same man, the widow her husband and the orphans their father. Losing a father would be more likely to put a family in danger of poverty than would losing a mother. Still, the general term “orphan” is appropriate here. For an English translation, we would favor it simply because “fatherless” is awkward. Translators working with a language in which a distinction must be made should decide for “fatherless,” but a word describing a person who has lost both parents would still be appropriate in any other situation. The two lines of this verse can be combined easily, as Good News Translation has effectively done, but for those translators who are using poetry, Contemporary English Version‘s model will be helpful:

• God listens when an orphan
begs for his help.
He hears the complaints
of a mistreated widow
as she cries out.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Sirach. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.