dastard

[das-terd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dastard ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a mean, sneaking coward.

adjective

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

Origin of dastard

1400–50; late Middle English < ?.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for dastard

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

British Dictionary definitions for dastard

dastard

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

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.