noun

• A woman without a husband, especially one that is divorced.

  ‘In Kempe's case, the failed brewery would have had economic repercussions, from which her husband was legally exempt if she operated as a femme sole.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘McDowell details the position of the feme sole in the book trade.’
  • ‘Single women enjoyed the legal status of femme sole, giving them the right to own property in their own names and to make contracts.’