lily-livered
Cowardly, lacking courageCowardly, lacking courage.
Translations
3 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Meaning
1 senses(idiomatic)Cowardly, lacking courage.
трусли́выйtruslívyj
боягу́зливийbojahúzlyvyj
- easily frightened
Origin
The first known uses of lily-livered are in William Shakespeare’s works written c. 1603–16The first known uses of lily-livered are in William Shakespeare’s works written c. 1603–1606; see quotations below. From the medieval belief that the liver was the seat of courage, and the pale color of the lily flower. A person who had no blood in their liver would have no courage and would thus be a coward. Equivalent to lily + livered.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
more lily-livered, most lily-livered| Comparative | more lily-livered Lesson |
|---|---|
| Superlative | most lily-livered Lesson |
regular
Synonyms
5 synonyms- easily frightened:chickenchickenheartedwhite-liveredyellowyellow-bellied
Word family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.