dastard

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dastard

/ˈdɑːstəd/ UK
/ˈdæstəd/ UK
/ˈdæstɚd/ US

Rhymes with (UK) -ɑːstəd, (General American) -æstə(ɹ)d

Where it comes from

From Middle English dastard (“a dullard”), most likely formed from *dast, a base derived from Old Norse dæstr (“exhausted, breathless”) + -ard. Compare Icelandic dasaður (“exhausted”), dialectal Swedish däst (“weary”), Middle Dutch dasaert, daasaardt (“a fool”), English dazed (“stupefied”).

noun dastards

A malicious coward; a dishonorable sneak. I thought ye would never have given out these arms till you had recovered your ancient freedom: but you are all recreants and dastards, and delight to live in slavery to the nobility.

adjective more dastard · most dastard

Meanly shrinking from danger, cowardly, dastardly. 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, Book III, Canto One, Stanza 22, in The Faerie Queene, Books Three and Four, edited by Dorothy Stephens, Hackett, 2006, p. 13, Like dastard Curres, that having at a bay The salvage beast embost in wearie chace, Dare not adventure on the stubborne pray, Ne byte

verb dastards · dastarding · dastarded

To dastardize. 1665, John Dryden, The Indian Emperour, or the Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards, being the Sequel of The Indian Queen, Act II, Scene 1, http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12166/pg12166-images.html Would my short life had yet a shorter date! / I'm weary of this flesh which holds us here, / And da
Similar: poltroon, craven

Translations

Every language

noun malicious coward

Deutsch	Feigling, Heimtücker

adj meanly shrinking from danger, cowardly

Deutsch	hinterhältig, heimtückisch

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MLA

"dastard." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dastard. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

dastard. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dastard

Chicago

"dastard." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dastard.

BibTeX

@misc{dastard_2026,
  title = {dastard},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dastard},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}