Cowardice
From Includipedia, the inclusionist encyclopedia
Template:Globalize Template:Two other uses Cowardice is a vice that is conventionally viewed as the corruption of prudence, to thwart all courage or bravery. Cowardice may be considered to be prudence that does not take consequences to their furthest extent.
[edit] Etymology
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word "coward" comes from an Old French word coart (modern French is couard), a combination of the word for "tail" and an agent noun suffix. It would therefore have meant "one with a tail" — perhaps one in the habit of turning it, or it may be derived from a dog's habit of putting its tail between its legs when it is afraid. Another more clearly related word, in old French, that can be related to coward is "couard" which literally means coward and was frequently used by French knights in battle. It is therefore possible that the English language was enriched in such manner through military contacts with the French, or with the French-influenced Normans that invaded England in 1066.
The English surname Coward (as in Noel Coward), however, has the same origin and meaning as the word "cowherd".
In America, the term 'Yellow Bellied' is often used as a term for cowardice. This originates from the time of the American Civil War, when deserters had a yellow cross painted across their lower abdomen.
