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Definition of poltroon - 5 dictionary results

pol⋅troon

  [pol-troon]
Use poltroon in a Sentence
–noun
1. a wretched coward; craven.
–adjective
2. marked by utter cowardice.
Origin:
1520–30; earlier pultrowne, pultron, poultroone < MF poultron < OIt poltrone idler, coward, deriv. of poltro foal < VL *pulliter, deriv. of L pullus young animal; see foal

Related forms:
pol⋅troon⋅er⋅y, noun
pol⋅troon⋅ish, adjective
pol⋅troon⋅ish⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. dastard.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To poltroon
pol·troon   (pŏl-trōōn')   
n.  A base coward: "Every moment of the fashion industry's misery is richly deserved by the designers . . . and magazine poltroons who perpetuate this absurd creation" (Nina Totenberg).

[French poltron, from Old Italian poltrone, coward, idler, perhaps augmentative of poltro, unbroken colt (from Vulgar Latin *pulliter, from Latin pullus, young animal; see pau-1 in Indo-European roots) or from poltro, bed, lazy.]
pol·troon'er·y n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Poltroon

Pol*troon"\, n. [F. poltron, from It. poltrone an idle fellow, sluggard, coward, poltro idle, lazy, also, bed, fr. OHG. polstar, bolstar, cushion, G. polster, akin to E. bolster. See Bolster.] An arrant coward; a dastard; a craven; a mean-spirited wretch. --Shak.

Poltroon

Pol*troon"\, a. Base; vile; contemptible; cowardly.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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poltroon 
"spiritless coward," 1529, from M.Fr. poultron "rascal, coward," from It. poltrone "lazy fellow, coward," apparently from *poltro "couch, bed" (cf. Milanese polter, Venetian poltrona "couch"), perhaps from a Gmc. source (cf. O.H.G. polstar "pillow," see bolster).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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