Where does “craven” come from?

Craven comes from Middle English craven, from Old English crafian, from Old French cravanter, from Latin crepo, from Proto-Indo-European ḱorh₂-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱer-.

craven (English): Unwilling to fight; lacking even the rudiments of...

Definitions

  1. Unwilling to fight; lacking even the rudiments of...

Ancestry of “craven”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishcravenDefeated; desire; crave
2Old Englishcrafianto crave; to ask, implore; to demand
3Proto-West Germanic*krafōnto implore, ask
Every word from Proto-West Germanic *krafōn →Every word from Old English crafian →Every word from Middle English craven →
craven — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer