Where does “cowardly” come from?
Cowardly comes from Middle English cowardli, though its ultimate origin and earliest meaning remain uncertain.
cowardly (English): Showing cowardice; lacking in courage; weakly...
Definitions
- Showing cowardice; lacking in courage; weakly...
Ancestry of “cowardly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | coward | coward, knave |
| 2 | Old French | coart | a coward; cowardly |
| 3 | Old French | -ard | pejorative agent noun |
| 4 | Frankish | -hard | hardy, bold |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | harduz | hard; brave |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kert- | times; to weave, twist together; time |
| 7 | Proto-Turkic | *keŕ- | to travel, tour |
Words derived from “cowardly”