American Heritage Dictionary:
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cow·ard
(kou'ərd) 
n.
One who shows ignoble fear in the face of danger or pain.
n.
One who shows ignoble fear in the face of danger or pain.
[Middle English, from Old French couard, from coue, tail, from Latin cauda.]
coward cow'ard adj.WORD HISTORY A coward is one who "turns tail." The word comes from Old French couart, coart, "coward," and is related to Italian codardo, "coward." Couart is formed from coe, a northern French dialectal variant of cue, "tail" (from Latin cōda), to which the derogatory suffix -ard was added. This suffix appears in bastard, laggard, and sluggard, to name a few. A coward may also be one with his tail between his legs. In heraldry a lion couard, "cowardly lion," was depicted with his tail between his legs. So a coward may be one with his tail hidden between his legs or one who turns tail and runs like a rabbit, with his tail showing.
coward
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Roget's Thesaurus:
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coward
noun
- An ignoble, uncourageous person: craven, dastard, funk, poltroon. Slang chicken, yellow-belly. See fear/courage.
Antonyms by Answers.com:
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coward
n
Definition: person who is scared, easily intimidated
Antonyms: aggressor, hero
Devil's Dictionary:
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coward
A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce
n.
One who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs.
Word Tutor:
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coward
IN BRIEF: A person who shrinks from danger or trouble.
A timid person is frightened before a danger, a coward during the time, and a courageous person afterward.
— Jean Paul Richter (1763-1825).
Tutor's tip: The "coward" (someone without courage) "cowered" (to crouch as a sign of fear) behind the door.
LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'coward'
See crossword solutions for the clue Translations:
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Coward
Dansk (Danish)
n. - kujon
adj. - fej, umandig
Français (French)
n. - lâche
adj. - lâche
Deutsch (German)
n. - Feigling
adj. - feige, ängstlich
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - άνανδρος, δειλός
Italiano (Italian)
codardo, vigliacco
Português (Portuguese)
n. - covarde (m)
Español (Spanish)
n. - persona cobarde
adj. - cobarde, gallina
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - feg stackare
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
懦弱的人, 胆小的人, 懦怯的, 胆小的
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 懦弱的人, 膽小的人
adj. - 懦怯的, 膽小的
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 겁쟁이
adj. - 겁 많은, 비겁한
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - カワード, 臆病馬
adj. - 臆病な
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) جبان
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - פחדן
adj. - נפחד בנקל
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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