backboneless

English

Etymology

backbone +‎ -less

Adjective

backboneless (not comparable)

1. (literally) Without a backbone; invertebrate.

   Antonym: backboned

   • 1897, Richard Marsh, The Beetle:

     Once, like a drunken man, I lurched forward, and fell upon my knees. Such was my backboneless state that for some seconds I remained where I was, half disposed to let things slide, accept the good the gods had sent me, and make a night of it just there.

2. (figuratively) Cowardly, spineless.

Derived terms

• backbonelessness

Translations

without a backbone — see invertebrate,‎ spineless

cowardly — see spineless