續一切經音義 1.95

1.95

Widowers and widows (鰥寡: the first character has the fanqie 寡頑 [guān]. The Book of Rites says: "An old man without a wife is called a widower (鰥)." The Book of Documents says: "There is an unmarried man in low station (有鰥在下)," referring to Shun being past marriageable age and having no wife. The second character, 寡, has the fanqie 關瓦 [guǎ]. The Kaosheng says: "Solitary; referring to a woman without a husband." The character 寡 is formed below with 分; in the sūtra text it is written below with 灬, with the fanqie 必遙 [biāo], as 寡, which is a scribal error).