Where does “cowardice” come from?
Cowardice comes from Middle English cowardise, from Anglo-Norman cuardise, from Old French -ise added to a root from Latin cauda meaning tail, with the Latin suffix -ia and Ancient Greek -ία, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -h₂.
cowardice (English): Lack of courage
Definitions
- Lack of courage
Ancestry of “cowardice”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | cowardise | cowardice, cowardliness |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | cuardise | cowardice; cowardliness |
| 3 | Old French | -ise | used to form feminine nouns, often denoting a... |
| 4 | Latin | -itia | -ness, -ity |
| 5 | Latin | -ia | Used to form a feminine abstract noun, usually... |
| 6 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |