(kou'ərd) pronunciation
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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noun

    An ignoble, uncourageous person: craven, dastard, funk, poltroon. Slang chicken, yellow-belly. See fear/courage.


n

Definition: person who is scared, easily intimidated
Antonyms: aggressor, hero

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A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce


n.

One who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs.


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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A person who shrinks from danger or trouble.

pronunciation 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.

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Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'coward'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to coward, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Coward.
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - kujon
adj. - fej, umandig

Nederlands (Dutch)
lafaard

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)

Русский (Russian)
трус

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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