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dastard

[ das-terd ]
/ ˈdæs tərd /
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dastard ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a mean, sneaking coward.

adjective

of or befitting a dastard; mean, sneaky, and cowardly.

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RELATED WORDS

poltroon, sneak, wimp, recreant, chicken, craven, cad

Nearby words

  1. dassehra,
  2. dassie,
  3. dassin,
  4. dassn't,
  5. dast,
  6. dastardly,
  7. dastur,
  8. dasy-,
  9. dasymeter,
  10. dasypaedal

Origin of dastard

1400–50; late Middle English < ?.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for dastard

dastard

/ (ˈdæstəd) /

noun

archaic a contemptible sneaking coward

Word Origin for dastard

C15 (in the sense: dullard): probably from Old Norse dæstr exhausted, out of breath
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for dastard

dastard

n.

mid-15c., "one who is lazy or dull;" an English formation on a French model, probably from *dast, "dazed," past participle of dasen "to daze" (see daze (v.)) + deprecatory suffix -ard. Meaning "one who shirks from danger" is late 15c.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper