Coward

Cow′ard

(kou′?rd)

,

Adj.

[OF.

couard

,

coard

,

coart

,

n.

and adj., F.

couard

, fr. OF.

coe

,

coue

, tail, F.

queue

(fr. L.

coda

, a form of

cauda

tail) +

-ard

; orig., short-tailed, as an epithet of the hare, or perh., turning tail, like a scared dog. Cf.

Cue

,

Queue

,

Caudal

.]

1.

(Her.)

Borne in the escutcheon with his tail doubled between his legs; – said of a lion.

2.

Destitute of courage; timid; cowardly.

Fie,

coward

woman, and soft-hearted wretch.

Shakespeare

3.

Belonging to a coward; proceeding from, or expressive of, base fear or timidity.

He raised the house with loud and

coward

cries.

Shakespeare

Invading fears repel my

coward

joy.

Proir.

Cow′ard

,

Noun.

A person who lacks courage; a timid or pusillanimous person; a poltroon.

Syn. – Craven; poltroon; dastard.

Cow′ard

,

Verb.

T.

To make timorous; to frighten.

[Obs.]

That which

cowardeth

a man’s heart.

Foxe.

Coward

COWARD

,

Noun.

[L.]

1.

A person who wants courage to meet danger; a poltroon; a timid or pusillanimous man.

A coward does not always escape with disgrace, but sometimes loses his life.

2.

In heraldry, a term given to a lion borne in the escutcheon with his tail doubled between his legs.

COWARD

,

Adj.

1.

Destitute of courage; timid; base; as a coward wretch.

2.

Proceeding from or expressive of fear, or timidity; as coward cry; coward joy.

Coward

See also: coward

English

Proper noun

Coward

A surname.

Derived terms

coward

See also: Coward

English

Noun

coward ‎(plural cowards, feminine cowardess)

A person who lacks courage.
- 1856: Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary, Part II Chapter IV, translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling
  He tortured himself to find out how he could make his declaration to her, and always halting between the fear of displeasing her and the shame of being such a coward, he wept with discouragement and desire. Then he took energetic resolutions, wrote letters that he tore up, put it off to times that he again deferred.

Synonyms

chicken
scaredy pants
See also Wikisaurus:coward

Derived terms

Translations

a person who lacks courage

Albanian: frikacak (sq) m
Arabic: جَبَان m ‎(jabān)
Armenian: վախկոտ (hy) ‎(vaxkot), քած (hy) ‎(kʿac) (vulgar), ղզիկ ‎(łzik)
Azeri: qorxaq (az)
Belarusian: баязлі́вец m ‎(bajazlívjec), баязлі́ўка f ‎(bajazlíŭka)
Bulgarian: страхли́вец (bg) m ‎(strahlívec)
Catalan: covard
Chakma: 𑄛𑄘𑄢 ‎(pādārā)
Chamicuro: s̈hamle'c̈homa
Chinese:
Mandarin: 懦夫 (zh) ‎(nuòfū), 孱頭 (zh), 孱头 (zh) ‎(càntou)
Czech: zbabělec m, posera (cs) m (vulgar)
Danish: bangebuks c
Dutch: lafaard (nl) m, slapjanus (nl), watje (nl)
Erzya: тандаль ‎(tandalʹ)
Esperanto:
Estonian: argpüks
Faroese: bloyta f, ræðuskítur m, rædduskítur m, bløka f, ónytta f
Finnish: pelkuri (fi)
French: couard (fr) m, couarde (fr) f, poltron (fr) m, poltronne (fr) f, froussard (fr) m, froussarde (fr) f
Georgian: მშიშარა ‎(mšišara), მხდალი ‎(mxdali), ლაჩარი ‎(lačari), ჯაბანი ‎(ǯabani), ქვეშაჯვია ‎(kvešaǯvia)
German: Feigling (de) m, (colloquial) Angsthase (de) m, (slang) Schisser (de) m, Schisserin f, Hosenscheißer (de) m (colloquial), Warmduscher (de) m (colloquial)
Greek: δειλός (el) m ‎(deilós), άνανδρος (el) m ‎(ánandros), κότα (el) f ‎(kóta), φοβιτσιάρης (el) m ‎(fovitsiáris), κιοτής (el) m ‎(kiotís), φοβητσιάρης (el) m ‎(fovitsiáris)
Haitian Creole: kapon
Hebrew: פַּחְדָן m ‎(paḥdán), פחדנית f ‎(paḥhdaníyt), מוּג לֵב (he) m ‎(mug lev)
Hindi: कायर (hi) ‎(kāyar)
Hungarian: gyáva (hu)
Irish: cladhaire m
Italian: codardo (it), pusillanime (it), vigliacco (it), vile (it), coniglio (it) m
Japanese: 臆病者 ‎(おくびょうもの, okubyōmono), 怖がり ‎(こわがり, kowagari), 怖がり屋 ‎(こわがりや, kowagariya), 腰抜け ‎(こしぬけ, koshinuke)
Kazakh: қорқақ (kk) ‎(qorqaq)
Khmer:
Korean: 겁쟁이 (ko) ‎(geopjaengi)

Kurdish: tirsok (ku), newêrek (ku), bêcesaret (ku), bêkulek (ku), tirsonek (ku), tirsoke (ku)
Latvian: gļēvulis m
Lithuanian: bailys m
Macedonian: кука́вица m, f ‎(****ávica)
Manx: aggleydagh
Maori: tautauhea, tautauwhea, tautauā, whiore hume, hukehuke
Mongolian:
Norwegian:

Bokmål: feiging (no) m, reddhare m

Nynorsk: feiging m, reddhare m
Old English: bleaþ, earg
Persian: ترسو (fa) ‎(tarsu), نامرد (fa) ‎(nâmard)
Polish: tchórz (pl) m, strachajło n
Portuguese: covarde (pt)
Romanian: laș (ro) m, lașă (ro) f
Russian: трус (ru) m ‎(trus), труси́ха (ru) f ‎(trusíxa), трусишка (ru) m, f ‎(trusiška) (mild), ссыку́н (ru) m ‎(ssykún) (vulgar), бздун (ru) m ‎(bzdun) (vulgar), ссыкло́ (ru) n ‎(ssykló) (vulgar), боя́ка (ru) m, f ‎(bojáka) (childish), боягу́з (ru) m ‎(bojagúz) (regional, Ukraine), боягу́зка (ru) f ‎(bojagúzka) (regional, Ukraine)
Scottish Gaelic: cladhaire m, gealtaire m
Serbo-Croatian:

Cyrillic: кукавица m, f

Roman: kukavica (sh) m, f
Shor: қортуқ ‎(qortuq)
Slovak: zbabelec m
Slovene: strahopetnež (sl) m, strahopetnica f
Spanish: cobarde (es) m, f, gallina (es) f
Swedish: fegis (sv), mes (sv) c
Telugu: పిరికివాడు (te) ‎(pirikivāḍu)
Thai:
Turkish: korkak (tr), ödlek (tr), tabansız (tr)
Ukrainian: боягу́з (uk) m ‎(bojahúz), боягу́зка (uk) f ‎(bojahúzka)
Vietnamese: người nhát gan (vi), người nhút nhát (vi)
Volapük: (♂♀) dredöfan (vo), (♂) hidredöfan, (♀) jidredöfan, (♂♀, slang) dredajiedan, (♂, slang) dredahijiedan, (♀, slang) dredajijiedan
Welsh: cachadur m, cachgi (cy) m, cachwr m, llwfrgi m, llyfrgi m, cilgi m
West Frisian: fiich, leffert c

Adjective

coward ‎(comparative more coward, superlative most coward)

Cowardly.
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821, II.17:
  It is a coward and servile humour, for a man to disguise and hide himselfe under a maske, and not dare to shew himselfe as he is.
- Shakespeare
  He raised the house with loud and coward cries.
- Prior
  Invading fears repel my coward joy.
(heraldry, of a lion) Borne in the escutcheon with his tail doubled between his legs.

References

Coward in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.

Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Coward

Cow′ard

Cow′ard

Cow′ard

Webster 1828 Edition

Coward

COWARD

COWARD

Definition 2024

Coward

Coward

English

Proper noun

Derived terms

See also

coward

coward

English

Noun

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

References

Etymology

Pronunciation

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