Cowardice.html



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

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. Genuine cowardice is almost universally frowned upon (see Universal norms and norms) within most, if not all global cultures, while courage is generally rewarded and encouraged.

Terrorism

Terrorist acts are often described as cowardly. Ronald Reagan called the 1983 United States Embassy bombing "cowardly"; Bill Clinton called the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing and the 1998 United States embassy bombings "an act of cowardice"^[1] and "cowardly," respectively; and George W. Bush called the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon "cowardly."^[2] Janet Reno also called Timothy McVeigh a "miserable little coward."^[3] McVeigh responded, "Coward? This label would make Orwell proud – it is doublethink at its finest."^[4] Bill Maher was fired largely because of his post 9/11 comments, "We have been the cowards. Lobbing cruise missiles from two thousand miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building. Say what you want about it. Not cowardly."^[5]

Liz Michael notes, "What in peacetime would be considered acts of cowardice and violence can be acts of patriotism and heroism in wartime."^[6]

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 the 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".

See also

References

External links

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