Coward definition | Dictionary.com

cow⋅ard

[kou-erd]

–noun

1.	a person who lacks courage in facing danger, difficulty, opposition, pain, etc.; a timid or easily intimidated person.

–adjective

2.	lacking courage; very fearful or timid.

3.	proceeding from or expressive of fear or timidity: a coward cry.

Origin:
1175–1225; ME < OF couard-, couart cowardly, equiv. to coue tail (< L cauda) + -art -ard

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Language Translation for : Coward

Spanish:

cobarde, miedica, cagado,

German:

der Feigling,

Japanese:

おく病者

View 30 other languages »

Cow⋅ard

[kou-erd]

–noun

Noel, 1899–1973, English playwright, author, actor, and composer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Cite This Source

cow·ard (kou'ərd) Pronunciation Key
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.]

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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Cow·ard (kou'ərd) Pronunciation Key
British actor, playwright, and composer especially noted for his witty and worldly comedies, such as Hay Fever (1925) and Private Lives (1930).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

coward

c.1225, from O.Fr. coart, from coe "tail," from L. coda, dialectal variant of cauda "tail," of uncertain origin + -ard, an agent noun suffix (denoting "one who does"). The word probably reflects an animal metaphoric sense still found in expressions like turning tail and tail between legs. Coart was the name of the hare in O.Fr. versions of "Reynard the Fox." As a surname (attested from 1255) it represents O.E. cuhyrde "cow-herd."

"Cowardice, as distinguished from panic, is almost always simply a lack of ability to suspend the functioning of the imagination." [Ernest Hemingway, "Men at War," 1942]

An O.E. word for "cowardly" was earg, which also meant "slothful."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

coward
noun
1.	a person who shows fear or timidity
2.	English dramatist and actor and composer noted for his witty and sophisticated comedies (1899-1973)

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Cite This Source

Coward, SC (town, FIPS 17215) Location: 33.97215 N, 79.74830 W
Population (1990): 532 (211 housing units)
Area: 8.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 29530

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
Cite This Source

Coward

Cau"dal\, a. [L. Cauda tail. Cf. Coward.] Of the nature of, or pertaining to, a tail; having a tail-like appendage.

The male widow-bird, remarkable for his caudal plumes. --Darwin.

Caudal fin (Zo["o]l.), the terminal fin (or "tail") of a fish.

Coward

Cow"ard\ (kou"?rd), a. [OF. couard, coard, coart, n. and adj., F. couard, fr. OF. coe, coue, tail, F. queue (fr. L. coda, a form of cauda tail) + -ard; orig., short-tailed, as an epithet of the hare, or perh., turning tail, like a scared dog. Cf. Cue, Queue, Caudal.]

1. (Her.) Borne in the escutcheon with his tail doubled between his legs; -- said of a lion.

2. Destitute of courage; timid; cowardly.

Fie, coward woman, and soft-hearted wretch. --Shak.

3. Belonging to a coward; proceeding from, or expressive of, base fear or timidity.

He raised the house with loud and coward cries. --Shak.

Invading fears repel my coward joy. --Proir.

Coward

Cow"ard\, n. A person who lacks courage; a timid or pusillanimous person; a poltroon.

A fool is nauseous, but a coward worse. --Dryden.

Syn: Craven; poltroon; dastard.