A widow is the last line of a paragraph left alone at the top of a page or column, separated from the rest of the paragraph that remains on the previous page. Like the orphan, it is considered a typesetting error, all the more visible when it is short.
Where to see it
A widow can be spotted at the top of a page or column, when an isolated line there ends a paragraph that began earlier. Depending on the convention, the definitions of widow and orphan are sometimes reversed, and the term is also commonly used for a single word left alone on the last line of a paragraph.
Why this detail matters
Avoiding widows is one of the finishing touches that set a careful layout apart:
- An isolated line at the top of a page breaks the continuity of reading and forces the reader to go back to recover the meaning;
- It creates a visual gap that unbalances the page or column, especially when the line contains only a few words;
- Layout software offers keep-lines-together options, and the CSS widows property helps avoid them on the web.
Related term
An orphan is the first line of a paragraph left alone at the bottom of a page or column; it is fixed with the same settings.