Question

caitiff adjective Caitiff is pretty rare in contemporary use, but it has functioned since the 14th century as an adjective and also as a noun meaning "a base, cowardly, or despicable person" (as in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure: "O thou caitiff! O thou varlet! O thou wicked Hannibal!"). Both the adjective and the noun evolved from the Anglo-French adjective caitif, meaning "wretched, despicable." The French word in turn derived from the Latin captivus, meaning "captive"-the shift from "captive" to "wretched" being perhaps prompted by the perception of captives as wretched and worthy of scorn. : cowardly, despicable

Accepted Answer

December 4, 2014 KAY-tif "Oh, horrible wretch! a murderer! unmanly murderer!-a defenceless woman smothered by caitiff hands!" - Edward Bulwer-Lytton, What Will He Do With It?, 1858   "… the Vichy cabinet accepted the German offer of air support from Sicily and Sardinia. This caitiff decision enabled the Germans to take the quick, decisive action of occupying airfields in Tunisia, with all its costly consequences upon our campaign." - Winston Churchill, The Hinge of Fate, 1950

Word	caitiff
Date	December 4, 2014
Type	adjective
Syllables	KAY-tif
Etymology	Caitiff is pretty rare in contemporary use, but it has functioned since the 14th century as an adjective and also as a noun meaning "a base, cowardly, or despicable person" (as in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure: "O thou caitiff! O thou varlet! O thou wicked Hannibal!"). Both the adjective and the noun evolved from the Anglo-French adjective caitif, meaning "wretched, despicable." The French word in turn derived from the Latin captivus, meaning "captive"-the shift from "captive" to "wretched" being perhaps prompted by the perception of captives as wretched and worthy of scorn.
Examples	"Oh, horrible wretch! a murderer! unmanly murderer!-a defenceless woman smothered by caitiff hands!" - Edward Bulwer-Lytton, What Will He Do With It?, 1858 "… the Vichy cabinet accepted the German offer of air support from Sicily and Sardinia. This caitiff decision enabled the Germans to take the quick, decisive action of occupying airfields in Tunisia, with all its costly consequences upon our campaign." - Winston Churchill, The Hinge of Fate, 1950
Definition	: cowardly, despicable

Caitiff Adjective Meaning Thou Noun Cowardly Despicable O