n.
A sign of cowardice.
idiom:
show the white feather
- To act like a coward.
[From the belief that a gamecock with a white feather in its tail was a poor fighter.]
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.
