poltron

Noun

poltron (plural poltrons)

1. (obsolete) Alternative form of poltroon
   • 1716, Thomas Browne, Christian Morals, 2nd edition edited by Samuel Johnson, London: J. Payne, 1756, Part I, p. 35,

     Be not a Hercules furens abroad, and a poltron within thyself.

   • 1792, Thomas Holcroft, Anna St. Ives, London: Shepperson & Reynolds, Volume 4, Letter 71, p. 127,

     She shall find I am not the clay, but the potter. I will mould, not be moulded. Poltron as I was, to think of sinking into the docile, domesticated, timid animal called husband!

   • 1823, Edward Dillingham Bangs, “An oration pronounced at Springfield, Mass., on the Fourth of July, 1823,”

     We were regarded as a nation of poltrons, without the spirit to resent insult, or the power to resist aggression.

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian poltrone (“lazy (person)”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɔl.tʁɔ̃/

Noun

poltron m, f (plural poltrons)

1. (pejorative) coward

Adjective

poltron (feminine singular poltronne, masculine plural poltrons, feminine plural poltronnes)

1. (pejorative) cowardly

Further reading

• “poltron” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Noun

poltron m (plural poltrons)

1. coward

Etymology

Borrowed from French poltron (“coward”), from Italian poltrone (“sluggard”).

Noun

poltron m (plural poltrons)

1. (Jersey) thug