The Casual Etymologist: Word of the Week

Original illustration by Paul Shinn
from his blog lookwhatidrawed

There are few insults so damning, so sneeringly goading or downright effective than being called a coward, and as a result, there have been countless innovations on the theme, resulting in some wonderfully original jibery. "Herb", "milksop", "candy-ass" and "jabronie" are but a drop in a trembling yellow ocean of cowardice. But where did it all start? Surely there must be somewhere a great,  snaggle-toothed, moth-eaten old grandfather of a word, a word so full of cuss, so utterly inflammatory it would have had Ghandi removing his glasses and rolling up his sleeves.

Well guess what, there is. And it is with a mixture of honour and trepidation that I present it to you. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility i.e. don't go being a mouthy sum' buck just because you can.

This week's Word of the Week is:

Pusillanimous: adjective: lacking courage or resolution; cowardly; faint-hearted; timid



Owing, as does the majority of our "modern" English language, to Greek and Latin derivations, Pusillanimous is conjunction of the words pusillis and animus, the former meaning "very weak" or "little" and the latter "spirit" or "courage". For best effect, pick a fight with someone much smaller and weaker than you, and when they try and "rise above it" and walk away, launch this verbal missile at the back of their head and wait gleefully for the fall-out. Or just watch the "chicken" scene in Back to the Future. You'll pick it up pretty quickly.