coward
Pronunciation: /ˈkaʊəd/
The English word “coward” has 4 meanings listed here.
noun
adjective
- Cowardly.
- Borne in the escutcheon with his tail doubled between his legs.
verb
- To intimidate.
Etymology
From Middle English coward, from Old French coart, cuard ( > French couard), from coue (“tail”), coe + -ard (pejorative agent noun suffix); coue, coe is in turn from Latin cauda. The reference seems to be to an animal "turning tail", or having its tail between its legs, especially a dog. Compare the expression tail between one's legs. Displaced native Old English earg (surviving in northern…
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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.