coward

English edit

Etymology edit

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. Unrelated to English cower. Displaced native Old English earg (survived in northern dialect English argh).

Pronunciation edit

(UK) enPR: kou'əd, IPA^(key): /ˈkaʊəd/
- Audio (Southern England) (file)
(US) enPR: kou'ərd, IPA^(key): /ˈkaʊɚd/
- Audio (US) (file)
Hyphenation: co‧ward
Homophone: cowered

Noun edit

coward (plural cowards)

A person who lacks courage.
- c. 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Ivlivs Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies, London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, act II, scene ii, page 117, column 1:
  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.

Synonyms edit

Derived terms edit

Translations edit

a person who lacks courage

Afrikaans: lafaard, papbroek
Albanian: frikacak (sq) m
Arabic: جَبَان (ar) m (jabān)
Armenian: վախկոտ (hy) (vaxkot), ղզիկ (hy) (ġzik)
Azerbaijani: qorxaq (az)
Bashkir: ҡурҡаҡ (qurqaq)
Basque: koldar
Belarusian: баязлі́вец m (bajazlívjec), баязлі́ўка f (bajazlíŭka), палахлі́вец m (palaxlívjec), палахлі́ўка f (palaxlíŭka)
Bulgarian: страхли́вец (bg) m (strahlívec), страхли́вка f (strahlívka)
Catalan: covard (ca)
Cebuano: talawan
Chakma: 𑄛𑄘𑄢 (pādārā)
Chamicuro: s̈hamle'c̈homa
Chechen: please add this translation if you can
Chinese:
Mandarin: 懦夫 (zh) (nuòfū), 孬種／孬种 (zh) (nāozhǒng), 孱頭／孱头 (zh) (càntou), 膽小鬼／胆小鬼 (zh) (dǎnxiǎoguǐ)
Chukchi: айыԓгыԓьын (ajyḷgyḷʹyn)
Crimean Tatar: please add this translation if you can
Czech: zbabělec (cs) m, zbabělkyně f, bázlivec (cs) m, posera (cs) m (vulgar)
Danish: bangebuks c, kujon c, kryster c
Dutch: lafaard (nl) m, slapjanus (nl), watje (nl)
Erzya: тандаль (tandaľ)
Esperanto: malkuraĝulo, timemulo, timulo, poltrono
Estonian: argpüks (et)
Faroese: bloyta f, ræðuskítur m, rædduskítur m, bløka f, ónytta f
Finnish: pelkuri (fi)
French: couard (fr) m, couarde (fr) f, poltron (fr) m, poltronne (fr) f, froussard (fr) m, froussarde (fr) f, lâche (fr)
Galician: covarde (gl), cagainas (gl)
Georgian: მშიშარა (mšišara), მხდალი (mxdali), ლაჩარი (lačari), ჯაბანი (ǯabani), ქვეშაჯვია (kvešaǯvia)
German: Feigling (de) m, (colloquial) Angsthase (de) m, (slang) Schisser (de) m, Schisserin (de) f, Hosenscheißer (de) m (colloquial), Warmduscher (de) m (colloquial)
Greek: δειλός (el) m (deilós), άνανδρος (el) m (ánandros), κότα (el) f (kóta), φοβιτσιάρης (el) m (fovitsiáris), κιοτής (el) m (kiotís), φοβητσιάρης (el) m (fovitsiáris)
Ancient: δειλός m (deilós), δειλή f (deilḗ)
Haitian Creole: kapon
Hebrew: פַּחְדָן (he) m (paḥdán), פחדנית f (paḥhdaníyt), מוּג לֵב (he) m (mug lev)
Hindi: कायर (hi) (kāyar), डरपोक (hi) m (ḍarpok), बुज़दिल m (buzdil), बुजदिल (hi) m (bujdil)
Hungarian: gyáva (alak) (it is an adjective so it rarely stands alone in the sense of a noun)
Icelandic: bleyða (is) f
Ido: poltrono (io), deskurajozo (io)
Ilocano: natakrot
Indonesian: pengecut (id)
Irish: cladhaire m
Italian: codardo (it), pusillanime (it), vigliacco (it), vile (it), coniglio (it) m
Ivatan: matahaw
Japanese: 臆病者 (ja) (おくびょうもの, okubyōmono), 怖がり (こわがり, kowagari), 怖がり屋 (こわがりや, kowagariya), 腰抜け (こしぬけ, koshinuke), 弱虫 (ja) (よわむし, yowamushi), 卑怯者 (ひきょうもの, hikyōmono)
Kapampangan: bayugin, galgawu, mataloti
Kazakh: қорқақ (kk) (qorqaq)
Khmer: អ្នកកំសាក (nĕək kɑmsaak), កំសាក (km) (kɑmsaak)
Korean: 겁쟁이 (ko) (geopjaeng'i), 비겁자(卑怯者) (bigeopja), 겁꾸러기 (geopkkureogi), 겁보 (geopbo), 겁부(怯夫) (geopbu)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: tirsok (ku), newêrek (ku), bêcesaret (ku), bêkulek (ku), tirsonek (ku), tirsoke (ku)
Kyrgyz: коркок (ky) (korkok)
Lao: ຄົນຕາຂາວ (khon tā khāo), ຄົນຂີ້ຢ້ານ (khon khī yān)
Latvian: gļēvulis m, gļēvule f
Lithuanian: bailys m
Luxembourgish: Feigling
Macedonian: кука́вица m or f (kukávica), страшливец m (strašlivec)
Malagasy: fananga
Malay: pengecut
Malayalam: ഭീരു (ml) (bhīru)
Manx: aggleydagh
Maori: tautauhea, tautauwhea, tautauā, whiore hume, hukehuke, hamo pango, poromataku
Maranao: talaw
Middle English: coward
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: аймхай хүн (ajmxaj xün), хулчгар хүн (xulčgar xün)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: feiging (no) m, reddhare m

Nynorsk: feiging m, reddhare m
Occitan: coard (oc)
Old English: earg
Persian: ترسو (fa) (tarsu), نامرد (fa) (nâmard), بزدل (fa) (bozdel)
Plautdietsch: Schietstremp f
Polish: tchórz (pl) m, strachajło n, bojaźliwiec m
Portuguese: covarde (pt)
Romanian: laș (ro) m, lașă (ro) f
Russian: трус (ru) m (trus), труси́ха (ru) f (trusíxa), трусишка (ru) m or f (trusiška) (mild), ссыку́н (ru) m (ssykún) (vulgar), бздун (ru) m (bzdun) (vulgar), ссыкло́ (ru) n (ssykló) (vulgar), боя́ка (ru) m or f (bojáka) (childish), боягу́з (ru) m (bojagúz) (regional, Ukraine), боягу́зка (ru) f (bojagúzka) (regional, Ukraine)
Scottish Gaelic: cladhaire m, gealtaire m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ку̏кавица m or f

Roman: kȕkavica (sh) m or f
Shan: ၵူၼ်းၶီႈယၢၼ်ႈ (kúun khīi yāan)
Shor: қортуқ (qortuq)
Slovak: zbabelec m, zbabelkyňa f, bojazlivec m, ustrašenec m
Slovene: strahopetnež (sl) m, strahopetnica f
Spanish: cobarde (es) m or f, gallina (es) f
Swahili: mwoga (sw)
Swedish: fegis (sv), mes (sv) c
Tagalog: duwag (tl)
Tajik: тарсу (tarsu), тарсончак (tg) (tarsončak), номард (nomard), буздил (buzdil)
Tatar: куркак (qurkak)
Telugu: పిరికివాడు (te) (pirikivāḍu)
Thai: คน ขี้ขลาด (kon kîi-klàat), ขี้ขลาด (th) (kîi-klàat) (adjective)
Turkish: korkak (tr), ödlek (tr), tabansız (tr)
Ukrainian: боягу́з (uk) m (bojahúz), боягу́зка (uk) f (bojahúzka), страхополо́х m (straxopolóx)
Uyghur: قورقۇنچاق (qorqunchaq)
Uzbek: qoʻrqoq (uz)
Vietnamese: người nhát gan (vi), người nhút nhát (vi)
Volapük: (♂♀) dredöfan (vo), (♂) hidredöfan, (♀) jidredöfan, (♂♀, slang) dredajiedan, (♂, slang) dredahijiedan, (♀, slang) dredajijiedan
Welsh: cachadur m, cachgi (cy) m, cachwr m, llwfrgi m, llyfrgi m, cilgi m
West Frisian: fiich, leffert c
Yiddish: פּחדן m (pakhdn), פּחדנטע f (pakhdnte), טרוס m (trus)

Adjective edit

coward (comparative more coward, superlative most coward)

A lion coward.

Cowardly.
- 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 17, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
  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,^[1]
  He rais’d the house with loud and coward cries.
- 1709, Matthew Prior, “Celia to Damon”, in Poems on Several Occasions‎^[2], 2nd edition, London: Jacob Tonson, page 89:
  Invading Fears repel my Coward Joy;
  And Ills foreseen the pleasant Bliss destroy.
(heraldry, of a lion) Borne in the escutcheon with his tail doubled between his legs.

Verb edit

coward (third-person singular simple present cowards, present participle cowarding, simple past and past participle cowarded)

(transitive, obsolete) To intimidate.
- 1820, John Chalkhill, Thealma and Clearchus:
  The first he coped with was their captain, whom / His sword sent headless to seek out a tomb. / This cowarded the valour of the rest, […]