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cry craven

 - 2 dictionary results

cra⋅ven

  [krey-vuhn]
Use cry craven in a Sentence
–adjective
1. cowardly; contemptibly timid; pusillanimous.
–noun
2. a coward.
–verb (used with object)
3. to make cowardly.
—Idiom
4. cry craven, to yield; capitulate; give up.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME cravant, cravaunde defeated < OF craventé, ptp. of cravanter to crush, overwhelm (< VL *crepantāre), influenced by ME creaunt defeated (see recreant )

Related forms:
cra⋅ven⋅ly, adverb
cra⋅ven⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. dastardly, fearful, timorous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

craven 
c.1225, perhaps from O.Fr. cravante "defeated," pp. of cravanter, from L. crepare "to crack, creak." Sense affected by crave and moved from "defeated" to "cowardly" (1581) perhaps via intermediary sense of "confess oneself defeated."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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