Definition of poltroon in English:

poltroon

noun pɒlˈtruːnpɑlˈtrun

archaic, literary

An utter coward.
〈古或诗/文〉胆小鬼，懦夫
come on, you poltroons!
Example sentencesExamples
- For reasons best known to themselves, the playlisting poltroons of national radio recently passed on Heartbeat, the new single from this Norwegian singer.
- I have to share ‘World's Greatest’ rights with a million poltroons.
- The new history falsely portrayed the British administrators and armed forces of the 19th Century as either tyrants or poltroons, and the settlers as heroic refugees fleeing from an oppressive government in the British Isles.
- It encourages people to mail or email white feathers to Jonah to remind him that he is a lily-livered poltroon.
- I knew what they were both thinking, for I was thinking it myself; he was a yellowed-belly poltroon.
Synonyms
cowardly, lily-livered, faint-hearted, chicken-hearted, pigeon-hearted, craven, spiritless, spineless, timid, timorous, fearful, trembling, quaking, shrinking, cowering, afraid of one's own shadow, pusillanimous, weak, feeble, soft

Derivatives

poltroonery

noun pɒlˈtruːnəripɑlˈtrun(ə)ri

literary, archaic

Then thank God a million times that Im a woman, and know poltroonery and dirty-mindedness when I see it.
Example sentencesExamples
- I find that it would be a piece of poltroonery in me to withdraw either the dedication or the dedicatory letter.

Origin

Early 16th century: from French poltron, from Italian poltrone, perhaps from poltro 'sluggard'.

French poltroon came from Italian poltrone, a term for either a coward or a lazy person which was possibly based on the Italian word for a bed or couch, poltro or else is from pullus ‘young animal’ (see pony). A story once widely believed was that the word related to archers shirking military service by cutting off their right thumbs, a self-inflicted wound which would make them incapable of drawing a longbow. Poltroon was supposed to be a corruption of Latin pollice truncus, ‘maimed or mutilated in the thumb’, but there is no foundation for this colourful story.

Rhymes

afternoon, attune, autoimmune, baboon, balloon, bassoon, bestrewn, boon, Boone, bridoon, buffoon, Cameroon, Cancún, cardoon, cartoon, Changchun, cocoon, commune, croon, doubloon, dragoon, dune, festoon, galloon, goon, harpoon, hoon, immune, importune, impugn, Irgun, jejune, June, Kowloon, lagoon, lampoon, loon, macaroon, maroon, monsoon, moon, Muldoon, noon, oppugn, picayune, platoon, pontoon, poon, prune, puccoon, raccoon, Rangoon, ratoon, rigadoon, rune, saloon, Saskatoon, Sassoon, Scone, soon, spittoon, spoon, swoon, Troon, tune, tycoon, typhoon, Walloon

Definition of poltroon in US English:

poltroon

nounpälˈtro͞onpɑlˈtrun

literary, archaic

An utter coward.
〈古或诗/文〉胆小鬼，懦夫
come on, you poltroons!
Example sentencesExamples
- I knew what they were both thinking, for I was thinking it myself; he was a yellowed-belly poltroon.
- For reasons best known to themselves, the playlisting poltroons of national radio recently passed on Heartbeat, the new single from this Norwegian singer.
- It encourages people to mail or email white feathers to Jonah to remind him that he is a lily-livered poltroon.
- I have to share ‘World's Greatest’ rights with a million poltroons.
- The new history falsely portrayed the British administrators and armed forces of the 19th Century as either tyrants or poltroons, and the settlers as heroic refugees fleeing from an oppressive government in the British Isles.
Synonyms
cowardly, lily-livered, faint-hearted, chicken-hearted, pigeon-hearted, craven, spiritless, spineless, timid, timorous, fearful, trembling, quaking, shrinking, cowering, afraid of one's own shadow, pusillanimous, weak, feeble, soft

Origin

Early 16th century: from French poltron, from Italian poltrone, perhaps from poltro ‘sluggard’.

词汇	poltroon
释义	Definition of poltroon in English: poltroon noun pɒlˈtruːnpɑlˈtrun archaic, literary An utter coward. 〈古或诗/文〉胆小鬼，懦夫 come on, you poltroons! Example sentencesExamples For reasons best known to themselves, the playlisting poltroons of national radio recently passed on Heartbeat, the new single from this Norwegian singer. I have to share ‘World's Greatest’ rights with a million poltroons. The new history falsely portrayed the British administrators and armed forces of the 19th Century as either tyrants or poltroons, and the settlers as heroic refugees fleeing from an oppressive government in the British Isles. It encourages people to mail or email white feathers to Jonah to remind him that he is a lily-livered poltroon. I knew what they were both thinking, for I was thinking it myself; he was a yellowed-belly poltroon. Synonyms cowardly, lily-livered, faint-hearted, chicken-hearted, pigeon-hearted, craven, spiritless, spineless, timid, timorous, fearful, trembling, quaking, shrinking, cowering, afraid of one's own shadow, pusillanimous, weak, feeble, soft Derivatives poltroonery noun pɒlˈtruːnəripɑlˈtrun(ə)ri literary, archaic Then thank God a million times that Im a woman, and know poltroonery and dirty-mindedness when I see it. Example sentencesExamples I find that it would be a piece of poltroonery in me to withdraw either the dedication or the dedicatory letter. Origin Early 16th century: from French poltron, from Italian poltrone, perhaps from poltro 'sluggard'. French poltroon came from Italian poltrone, a term for either a coward or a lazy person which was possibly based on the Italian word for a bed or couch, poltro or else is from pullus ‘young animal’ (see pony). A story once widely believed was that the word related to archers shirking military service by cutting off their right thumbs, a self-inflicted wound which would make them incapable of drawing a longbow. Poltroon was supposed to be a corruption of Latin pollice truncus, ‘maimed or mutilated in the thumb’, but there is no foundation for this colourful story. Rhymes afternoon, attune, autoimmune, baboon, balloon, bassoon, bestrewn, boon, Boone, bridoon, buffoon, Cameroon, Cancún, cardoon, cartoon, Changchun, cocoon, commune, croon, doubloon, dragoon, dune, festoon, galloon, goon, harpoon, hoon, immune, importune, impugn, Irgun, jejune, June, Kowloon, lagoon, lampoon, loon, macaroon, maroon, monsoon, moon, Muldoon, noon, oppugn, picayune, platoon, pontoon, poon, prune, puccoon, raccoon, Rangoon, ratoon, rigadoon, rune, saloon, Saskatoon, Sassoon, Scone, soon, spittoon, spoon, swoon, Troon, tune, tycoon, typhoon, Walloon Definition of poltroon in US English: poltroon nounpälˈtro͞onpɑlˈtrun literary, archaic An utter coward. 〈古或诗/文〉胆小鬼，懦夫 come on, you poltroons! Example sentencesExamples I knew what they were both thinking, for I was thinking it myself; he was a yellowed-belly poltroon. For reasons best known to themselves, the playlisting poltroons of national radio recently passed on Heartbeat, the new single from this Norwegian singer. It encourages people to mail or email white feathers to Jonah to remind him that he is a lily-livered poltroon. I have to share ‘World's Greatest’ rights with a million poltroons. The new history falsely portrayed the British administrators and armed forces of the 19th Century as either tyrants or poltroons, and the settlers as heroic refugees fleeing from an oppressive government in the British Isles. Synonyms cowardly, lily-livered, faint-hearted, chicken-hearted, pigeon-hearted, craven, spiritless, spineless, timid, timorous, fearful, trembling, quaking, shrinking, cowering, afraid of one's own shadow, pusillanimous, weak, feeble, soft Origin Early 16th century: from French poltron, from Italian poltrone, perhaps from poltro ‘sluggard’.
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