coward

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

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. Unrelated to English cower. Displaced native Old English earg.

PronunciationEdit

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

NounEdit

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 606515358, 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.

SynonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

a person who lacks courage

Afrikaans: lafaard, papbroek
Albanian: frikacak (sq) m
Arabic: جَبَان‎ (ar) m (jabān)
Armenian: վախկոտ (hy) (vaxkot), ղզիկ (hy) (łzik)
Azerbaijani: qorxaq (az)
Bashkir: ҡурҡаҡ (qurqaq)
Belarusian: баязлі́вец m (bajazlívjec), баязлі́ўка f (bajazlíŭka), палахлі́вец m (palaxlívjec), палахлі́ўка f (palaxlíŭka)
Bulgarian: страхли́вец (bg) m (strahlívec)
Catalan: covard (ca)
Cebuano: talawan
Chakma: 𑄛𑄘𑄢 (pādārā)
Chamicuro: s̈hamle'c̈homa
Chinese:
Mandarin: 懦夫 (zh) (nuòfū), 孬種 (zh), 孬种 (zh) (nāozhǒng), 孱頭 (zh), 孱头 (zh) (càntou), 膽小鬼 (zh), 胆小鬼 (zh) (dǎnxiǎoguǐ)
Chukchi: айыԓгыԓьын (ajyḷgyḷʹyn)
Czech: zbabělec (cs) m, posera (cs) m (vulgar)
Danish: bangebuks c, kujon c, kryster c
Dutch: lafaard (nl) m, slapjanus (nl), watje (nl)
Erzya: тандаль (tandalʹ)
Esperanto: malkuraĝulo, timemulo, timulo
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)
Ido: poltrono (io), deskurajozo (io)
Irish: cladhaire m
Italian: codardo (it), pusillanime (it), vigliacco (it), vile (it), coniglio (it) m
Japanese: 臆病者 (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)
Kapampangan: bayugin, galgawu, mataloti
Kazakh: қорқақ (kk) (qorqaq)
Khmer: please add this translation if you can
Korean: 겁쟁이 (ko) (geopjaeng'i)

Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: tirsok (ku), newêrek (ku), bêcesaret (ku), bêkulek (ku), tirsonek (ku), tirsoke (ku)
Latvian: gļēvulis m
Lithuanian: bailys m
Luxembourgish: Feigling
Macedonian: кука́вица m or f (kukávica)
Malagasy: fananga
Manx: aggleydagh
Maori: tautauhea, tautauwhea, tautauā, whiore hume, hukehuke, hamo pango, poromataku
Maranao: talaw
Middle English: coward
Mongolian: аймхай хүн (aimkhai khün), хулчгар хүн (khulchgar khün)
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)
Plautdietsch: Schietstremp f
Polish: tchórz (pl) m, strachajło n
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: кукавица m or f

Roman: kukavica (sh) m or f
Shor: қортуқ (qortuq)
Slovak: zbabelec m
Slovene: strahopetnež (sl) m, strahopetnica f
Spanish: cobarde (es) m or f, gallina (es) f
Swedish: fegis (sv), mes (sv) c
Tagalog: duwag (tl)
Telugu: పిరికివాడు (te) (pirikivāḍu)
Thai: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: korkak (tr), ödlek (tr), tabansız (tr)
Ukrainian: боягу́з (uk) m (bojahúz), боягу́зка (uk) f (bojahúzka)
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)

AdjectiveEdit

coward (comparative more coward, superlative most coward)

Cowardly.
- 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 17, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], OCLC 946730821:
  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, London: Jacob Tonson, 2nd edition, p. 89,^[2]
  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.

VerbEdit

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, […]