poltroon

Etymology

From Middle French poltron, from Italian poltrone.

noun

1. An ignoble or total coward; a dastard; a mean-spirited wretch.
   For the Devil’s a Coward in Nature, A pitiful sorry Poltroon; If you take but the Whip, he’ll give you the Slip; And before you can lash him, he’ll run. 1727, Daniel Defoe, edited by J. Roberts, An Essay on the History and Reality of Apparitions, London, Chapter 8, page 144
   You damned poltroon, you never tried them! 1778, George Washington, to Charles Lee following an act of insubordination
   To gain life by means of a breach of faith and honour, were indeed to render myself the poltroon, and the villain my accusers believe me. 1842, Nicholas Michell, “Chapter 28”, in The Traduced: An Historical Romance, volume I, London: T. & W. Boone, pages 266–267
   The chief said, "That was the Colonel, likely. I've been expecting him for two days. He will be up now right away." He was correct. The Colonel appeared in the door a moment afterward with a dragoon revolver in his hand. He said, "Sir, have I the honor of addressing the poltroon who edits this mangy sheet?" "You have. Be seated, sir. Be careful of the chair, one of its legs is gone. I believe I have the honor of addressing the putrid liar, Colonel Blatherskite Tecumseh?" "Right, Sir. I have a little account to settle with you. If you are at leisure we will begin." 1875, Mark Twain, “Journalism in Tennessee”, in Sketches New and Old
   The sounds outside had ceased...But somebody had been there, and she proposed to look into the matter thoroughly. There was nothing of the poltroon about Adela Shannon Cork 1951, P. G. Wodehouse, 'The Old Reliable', London: Hutchinson, published 1981, page 162
   First is our unbreakable rule that every candidate must be a trained trooper, blooded under fire, a veteran of combat drops. No other army in history has stuck to this rule, although some came close. Most great military schools of the past — Saint Cyr, West Point, Sandhurst, Colorado Springs didn’t even pretend to follow it; they accepted civilian boys, trained them, commissioned them, sent them out with no battle experience to command men... and sometimes discovered too late that this smart young ‘officer’ was a fool, a poltroon, or a hysteric. 1959, Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers
   2018 Jared, "Tech Evangelist", Silicon Valley episode 42, 5 minutes You judas, you cow-handed poltroon, we thought you were a stallion.

adj

1. Cowardly.
   Accordingly, to excuse our deliberate inactivity in the north, we had to make a show of impotence, which gave them to understand that the Arabs were too poltroon to cut the line near Maan and keep it cut. 1926, T. E. Lawrence, “Chapter 82”, in Seven Pillars of Wisdom