coward
/ˈkaʊɚd/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.67 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
adj
Borne in the escutcheon with his tail doubled between his legs.
name
A surname originating as an occupation.
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonyms: big baby, baby"
- "Cowards dye many times before their deaths, / The valiant neuer taſte of death but once: […]"
- "1856: Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary, Part II Chapter IV, translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling He tortured himself to find out how he could make his declaration to her, and always halting between the fear of displeasing her and the shame of being such a coward, he wept with discouragement and desire. Then he took energetic resolutions, wrote letters that he tore up, put it off to times that he again deferred."
- "It is a coward and servile humour, for a man to disguise and hide himselfe under a maske, and not dare to shew himselfe as he is."
- "c. 1605, William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act II, Scene 4, He rais’d the house with loud and coward cries."
- "Invading Fears repel my Coward Joy; And Ills foreseen the pleasant Bliss destroy."
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 dialect English argh). Unrelated to cower, which is of Germanic origin.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkaʊɚd/
- British English: /ˈkaʊəd/
Usage
Inflected Forms
cowards (plural)
more coward (comparative)
most coward (superlative)
cowards (present, singular)
cowarding (participle, present)
cowarded (participle, past)
cowarded (past)