Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “cowardise” come from?

cowardise (Middle English) comes from Anglo-Norman cuardise, from Old French -ise, from Latin -itia, from Latin -ia, from Latin -ius, from Proto-Italic -jōs, from Proto-Indo-European -yós — Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems.

Ancestry of “cowardise”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Anglo-Normancuardisecowardice; cowardliness
2Old French-iseused to form feminine nouns, often denoting a...
3Latin-itia-ness, -ity
4Latin-iaUsed to form a feminine abstract noun, usually...
5Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
6Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
7Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems

Words derived from “cowardise”

  • cowardice
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →