Craveness
/ˈkreɪvənnəs/noun
The quality or state of being craven; cowardice or abject fear.
Did you know?Craven comes from an Old French word meaning “shorn” or “cropped,” and in medieval English it became a label for someone so defeated they were likened to a punished, stripped-down man.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sker-
“to cut, shear”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*skeraną
“to cut, shear”
Old English
OE
scear
“shears, cutting implement”
Old French
OF
cravant
“shorn, cropped; defeated, cowardly”
Middle English
ME
craven
“cowardly, base; also used as a noun for a coward”
Modern English
English
craveness
“the state or quality of being craven”