Regency Words: Poltroon

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Poltroon means: An ignoble or total coward; a dastard; a mean-spirited wretch. Its usage dates from the 1520s, likely taken from the French poultron (rascal, coward) or Italian poltrone (coward).

According to Google Ngram, it saw peak usage in written text around 1820, with a steady decline after that.

POLTROON According to Suetonius in Vit August c 24 a Roman knight who had cut off the thumb of his two sons to prevent them being called to a military life was by order of Augustus publicly sold both he and his property Calmut remarks that the Italian language has preserved a term poltrone which signifies one whose thumb is cut off to designate a soldier destitute of courage and valour We use poltroon to signify a dastardly fellow without considering the import of the original Pulleyn, William. The Etymological Compendium, Or Portfolio of Origins and Inventions, Etc. United Kingdom: Tegg, 1828.

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