covardia

Etymology

From covard (“coward”) +‎ -ia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ku.βərˈdi.ə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ko.vərˈdi.ə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ko.vaɾˈði.a]

Noun

covardia f (plural covardies)

1. cowardice (the lack of courage)

Further reading

• “covardia” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “covardia”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “covardia” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “covardia” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Alternative forms

• cobardia

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese covardia, from covarda, from Old French coart, cuard, from coe (“tail”) + -ard (“pejorative agent noun”); coe is in turn from Latin cauda. The reference seems to be to an animal “turning tail”, or having its tail between its legs, especially a dog.

Pronunciation

Noun

covardia f (uncountable)

1. cowardice (the lack of courage)

   Synonyms: medo, pusilanimidade

   Antonym: coragem