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  1. dastard love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A sneaking, malicious coward.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A dullard; a simpleton.
  2. n. A base coward; a poltroon; one who meanly shrinks from danger, or who performs malicious actions in a cowardly, sneaking manner.
  3. n. Synonyms Poltroon, Craven, etc. See coward.
  4. Characterized by base cowardice; meanly shrinking from danger, or from the consequences of malicious acts.
  5. To make dastard; intimidate; dispirit.
  6. To call one dastard or coward.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A malicious coward; a dishonorable sneak.
  2. adj. meanly shrinking from danger, cowardly, dastardly
  3. v. To dastardize.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. One who meanly shrinks from danger; an arrant coward; a poltroon.
  2. adj. Meanly shrinking from danger; cowardly; dastardly.
  3. v. rare To dastardize.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. despicably cowardly
  2. n. a despicable coward

Etymologies

  1. ME, most likely from Old Norse dæstr ("exhausted"). (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English, probably alteration of Old Norse dæstr, exhausted, from past participle of dæsa, to languish, decay. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

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Lists

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Comments

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  • bilby "... only that name remains;
    The cruelty and envy of the people,
    Permitted by our dastard nobles, who
    Have all forsook me, hath devour'd the rest,
    And suffer'd me by the voice of slaves to be
    Whoop'd out of Rome."
    - William Shakespeare, 'The Tragedy of Coriolanus'. Aug 28, 2009

  • qroqqa Exact words were never spoken, but Miss Christie had come to live in the belief that Miss Nicholl and Mrs. Hazelton had grown up together, would in fact have made a joint debut had it not been for the death of Miss Nicholl's father, too innocent a soul to mistrust the dastard who managed his financial affairs; so Miss Nicholl had had to go to work and, naturally, her path had split wide from Mrs. Hazelton's.
    —Dorothy Parker, 'The Bolt behind the Blue' Nov 12, 2008

  • bilby Drat Saddam, a mad dastard! Oct 18, 2008

  • milosrdenstvi Which explains someone being dastardly. Aug 22, 2008

  • brtom "My client, an innately bashful man, would be the last man in the world to do anything ungentlemanly which injured modesty could object to or cast a stone at a girl who took the wrong turning when some dastard, responsible for her condition, had worked his own sweet will on her."
    Joyce, Ulysses, 15 Feb 5, 2007

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‘dastard’ has been looked up 2384 times, loved by 3 people, added to 34 lists, commented on 5 times, and has a Scrabble score of 9.