different between cowardly vs niddering

English

Etymology

From Middle English *cowardli (adjective) and couardli (adverb), equivalent to coward +? -ly. Displaced native Old English earg.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?ka??dli/

Adjective

cowardly (comparative cowardlier or more cowardly, superlative cowardliest or most cowardly)

1. Showing cowardice; lacking in courage; weakly fearful.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:cowardly

   • 1780, Edmund Burke, speech at The Guildhall, in Bristol

     The cowardly rashness of those who dare not look danger in the face.

Derived terms

• cowardlily

Translations

Adverb

cowardly (comparative more cowardly, superlative most cowardly)

1. (archaic) In the manner of a coward, cowardlily.

Translations

English

Etymology

A variant of nithing, resulting from the letter eth (ð) in Early Middle English niðing in the writings of the English historian William of Malmesbury (c. 1095 – c. ?1143) being mistaken for a d followed by a mark of suspension representing a letter that had been omitted as an abbreviation. This led to niðing being wrongly spelled as nidering in early printed versions of his works. The word was later popularized by the Scottish novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /?n?d????/, /?n?d???/
• Hyphenation: nid?der?ing

Noun

niddering (plural nidderings)

1. (archaic) Synonym of nithing (“a coward, a dastard; a wretch”)

Alternative forms

• nidering

Adjective

niddering (comparative more niddering, superlative most niddering)

1. (archaic) Synonym of nithing (“cowardly, dastardly; notoriously evil or wicked; infamous”)

Alternative forms

• nidering

References