n.
Ignoble fear in the face of danger or pain.
[Middle English cowardise, from Old French couardise, alteration of couardie, from couard, coward. See coward.]
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.
