pusillanimous

WOTD – 25 March 2007    

English

Etymology

Derived from Latin pusillus (“very small”) + animus (“spirit”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pjuːsɪlˈænɪməs/ or IPA: /pjuːsəlˈænəməs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ænɪməs

Adjective

pusillanimous (comparative more pusillanimous, superlative most pusillanimous)

1. Showing ignoble cowardice, or contemptible timidity

   The soldier deserted his troop in a pusillanimous manner.

   • 1882 — Mark Twain, On the Decay of the Art of Lying [1].

     Therefore, the wise thing is for us diligently to train ourselves to lie thoughtfully, judiciously; to lie with a good object, and not an evil one; to lie for others' advantage, and not our own; to lie healingly, charitably, humanely, not cruelly, hurtfully, maliciously; to lie gracefully and graciously, not awkwardly and clumsily; to lie firmly, frankly, squarely, with head erect, not haltingly, tortuously, with pusillanimous mien, as being ashamed of our high calling.

Related terms

• pusillanimously
• pusillanimousness

Translations

showing cowardice

• Czech: malomyslný (cs) m
• Finnish: pelkurimainen
• French: pusillanime (fr)
• Greek: λιπόψυχος (el) (lipόpsikhos)

• Portuguese: pusilânime (pt)
• Russian: трусливый (ru) (truslivyj), малодушный (ru) (malodušnyj)
• Spanish: pusilánime (es)
• Swedish: räddhågad (sv), klenmodig (sv), försagd (sv)