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poltroon

[ pol-troon ]
/ pɒlˈtrun /
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See synonyms for: poltroon / poltroonery / poltroonish on Thesaurus.com
noun
a wretched coward; craven.
adjective
marked by utter cowardice.
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Origin of poltroon

1520–30; earlier pultrowne, pultron, poultroone<Middle French poultron<Old Italian poltrone idler, coward, derivative of poltro foal <Vulgar Latin *pulliter, derivative of Latin pullus young animal; see foal

OTHER WORDS FROM poltroon

pol·troon·er·y, nounpol·troon·ish, adjectivepol·troon·ish·ly, adverb

Words nearby poltroon

polo shirt, Pol Pot, Polska, Poltava, poltergeist, poltroon, poly, polyacid, polyacrylamide, polyacrylamide gel, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

Words related to poltroon

coward, craven, dastard, milksop, varlet, weakling, yellowbelly

How to use poltroon in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for poltroon

poltroon
/ (pɒlˈtruːn) /
noun
an abject or contemptible coward
adjective
a rare word for cowardly

Word Origin for poltroon

C16: from Old French poultron, from Old Italian poltrone lazy good-for-nothing, apparently from poltrīre to lie indolently in bed, from poltro bed
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
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