Cowardice

"Coward" redirects here. For other meanings including as a surname, see Coward (disambiguation).

The Cowardly Lion, from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Cowardice is a trait wherein fear and excess self-concern override what is right, good and of help to others in need—it is the opposite of courage. As a label, "cowardice" indicates a failure of one's character in the face of a challenge.

Under many military codes of justice, cowardice in combat is a crime punishable by death (e.g. shot at dawn). The term describes a personality trait which is seen as a negative characteristic and has been shunned and disdained (see norms) within most, if not all cultures, whilst courage, typically viewed as its direct opposite, is generally rewarded and encouraged.

Etymology

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word coward came into English from the Old French word coart (modern French couard), a combination of the word for "tail" (Modern French queue, Latin cauda) and an agent noun suffix. It would therefore have meant "one with a tail" — perhaps from the habit of animals displaying their tails in flight ("turning tail"), or from a dog's habit of putting its tail between its legs when it is afraid.. Like many other English words of French origin, this word was introduced in the English language by the French-speaking Normans, after the Norman conquest of England in 1066.

The English surname Coward (as in Noël Coward), however, has the same origin and meaning as the word "cowherd".

Military law

Acts of cowardice have long been punishable by military law, which defines a wide range of cowardly offenses including desertion in face of the enemy and surrendering to the enemy against orders. The punishment for such acts is typically severe, ranging from corporal punishment to the death sentence. Cowardly conduct is specifically mentioned within the United States Uniform Code of Military Justice.

See also

• Anxiety
• Courage
• Fear
• Sissy
• Virtue
• Weakness