caitiff
(adjective) despicably mean and cowardly
caitiff
(noun) a cowardly and despicable person
Source: WordNet® 3.1
caitiff (plural caitiffs)
A base or despicable person; a wretch
(obsolete) A captive or prisoner, particularly a galley slave
(archaic) A villain, a coward or wretch
caitiff (comparative more caitiff, superlative most caitiff)
Especially despicable; cowardly
Source: Wiktionary
Cai"tiff, a. Etym: [OE. caitif, cheitif, captive, miserable, OF. caitif, chaitif, captive, mean, wretched, F. chétif, fr. L. captivus captive, fr. capere to take, akin to E. heave. See Heave, and cf. Captive.]
1. Captive; wretched; unfortunate. [Obs.] Chaucer.
2. Base; wicked and mean; cowardly; despicable. Arnold had sped his caitiff flight. W. Irving.
Cai"tiff, n.
Definition: A captive; a prisoner. [Obs.] Avarice doth tyrannize over her caitiff and slave. Holland.
2. A wretched or unfortunate man. [Obs.] Chaucer.
3. A mean, despicable person; one whose character meanness and wickedness meet.
Note: The deep-felt conviction of men that slavery breaks down the moral character . . . speaks out with . . . distinctness in the change of meaning which caitiff has undergone signifying as it now does, one of a base, abject disposition, while there was a time when it had nothing of this in it. Trench.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
9 May 2025
(noun) anything in accord with principles of justice; “he feels he is in the right”; “the rightfulness of his claim”
The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.
