What does "single mother" mean to you?

[nq:1]What does "single mother" mean to you?[/nq]
She's not married. Could be divorced, widowed, or never married.

[nq:1]What does "single mother" mean to you?[/nq]
This defines how I understand the phrase, and how I see it used in British English:
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/single mother
single mother (plural single mothers)
1. A woman raising a child on her own without a husband or partner.

Peter Du

[nq:1]What does "single mother" mean to you?[/nq]
Let me also ask you to give your age and home country when you answer.

The first two meanings are not what it means to me, and when I did a survey 2 years ago, 8 out of 12 people I asked answered diffently from these also.

Posters should say where they live, and for which
area they are asking questions. I have lived in

[nq:2]What does "single mother" mean to you?[/nq]
[nq:1]Let me also ask you to give your age and home country when you answer. The first two meanings are ... when I did a survey 2 years ago, 8 out of 12 people I asked answered diffently from these also.[/nq]
An unmarried woman with a child. I live in western Massachusetts, grew up on Long Island.
Jeff

The comfort of the wealth

[nq:2]Let me also ask you to give your age and ... of 12 people I asked answered diffently from these also.[/nq]
[nq:1]An unmarried woman with a child. I live in western Massachusetts, grew up on Long Island.[/nq]
Two years ago when I did my survey, I polled people from age 30 to 60, several in their 40's I think I counted myself in the survey 7 people and I thought single mother, and whil

In our last episode, (Email Removed), the lovely and talented mm broadcast on alt.usage.english:
[nq:1]Two years ago when I did my survey, I polled people from age 30 to 60, several in their 40's ... what you all have said, we thought it specifically meant a woman who had a child when she wasn't married.[/nq]
That is just wrong. What in the world do you people make of 'single dad'? I assum

[nq:1]What does "single mother" mean to you?[/nq]
A woman (sometimes, but not always, a very young woman) who is raising a child or children on her own. That is, there is no husband or boyfriend on the scene (though there may have been previously).

A "single mother" may be unmarried, divorced, or widowed though a divorced or widowed mother may prefer to be called "divorced" or "widowe

[nq:1]What does "single mother" mean to you?[/nq]
She lives alone, apart from her children, and has sole responsibility for caring for and supporting them.

Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm
Blog:

[nq:2]An unmarried woman with a child. I live in western Massachusetts, grew up on Long Island.[/nq]
[nq:1]Two years ago when I did my survey, I polled people from age 30 to 60, several in their 40's ... she wasn't married. That's what first came to mind when we heard the phrase, and nothing else replaced it later.[/nq]
I didn't see your request the first time I answered it, so I'll repeat

Maria Conlon filted:
[nq:1]I'm glad you don't refer to the "single mother" as a "single mom": I don't like the term "mom" unless ... term, especially when used by "outsiders" who don't know the mother being discussed. But that's just me. Others will disagree.[/nq]
How about if she's a "soccer mom"?...r

A pessimist sees the glass as half empty.
An optometrist asks whether you s