CRAVEN

craven, recreant

(adjective) lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful; “the craven fellow turned and ran”; “a craven proposal to raise the white flag”; “this recreant knight”- Spenser

poltroon, craven, recreant

(noun) an abject coward

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Proper noun

Craven

A surname.

A local government district in North Yorkshire, England

Anagrams

• carven, cavern

Etymology

Adjective

craven (comparative more craven, superlative most craven)

Unwilling to fight; lacking even the rudiments of courage; extremely cowardly.

Noun

craven (plural cravens)

A coward.

Verb

craven (third-person singular simple present cravens, present participle cravening, simple past and past participle cravened)

To make craven.

Anagrams

• carven, cavern

Source: Wiktionary


Cra"ven (kr"v'n), a. Etym: [OE. cravant, cravaunde, OF. cravant struck down, p. p. of cravanter, crevanter, to break, crush, strike down, fr. an assumed LL. crepantare, fr. L. crepans, p. pr. of crepare to break, crack, rattle. Cf. Crevice, Crepitate.]

Definition: Cowardly; fainthearted; spiritless. "His craven heart." Shak. The poor craven bridegroom said never a word. Sir. W. Scott. In craven fear of the sarcasm of Dorset. Macualay.

Cra"ven, n. Etym: [Formerly written also cravant and cravent.]

Definition: A recreant; a coward; a weak-hearted, spiritless fellow. See Recreant, n. King Henry. Is it fit this soldier keep his oath Fluellen.He is a craven and a villain else. Shak.

Syn.

– Coward; poltroon; dastard.

Cra"ven, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cravened (-v'nd);p. pr. & vb. n. Cravening.]

Definition: To make recreant, weak, spiritless, or cowardly. [Obs.] There is a prohibition so divine, That cravens my weak hand. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

26 April 2024

CITYSCAPE

(noun) a viewpoint toward a city or other heavily populated area; “the dominant character of the cityscape is it poverty”


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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