Recreant — Rec re*ant ( ant), a. [OF., cowardly, fr. recroire, recreire, to forsake, leave, tire, discourage, regard as conquered, LL. recredere se to declare one s self conquered in combat; hence, those are called recrediti or recreanti who are considered… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
recreant — c.1300 (adj.) confessing oneself to be overcome or vanquished, from O.Fr. recreant yielding, giving, prp. of recroire to yield in a trial by combat, surrender allegiance, perhaps on notion of take back one s pledge, yield one s cause, from re… … Etymology dictionary
recreant — Recreant, Picard. Recreant, Qui ne peut plus fournir à la peine, Recreu, Enectus, Fatiscens. C est aussi aucunesfois lasche de courage … Thresor de la langue françoyse
Recreant — Rec re*ant, n. One who yields in combat, and begs for mercy; a mean spirited, cowardly wretch. Blackstone. [1913 Webster] You are all recreants and dastards! Shak. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
recreant — n *renegade, apostate, turncoat, backslider Analogous words: treacherousness or treachery, perfidiousness or perfidy, traitorousness (see corresponding adjectives at FAITHLESS) … New Dictionary of Synonyms
recreant — [rek′rē ənt] [Archaic or Literary] Literary Archaic adj. [ME < OFr prp. of recreire, to surrender allegiance < ML recredere, to give in or up < L re , back, again + credere, to believe: see CREED] 1. cowardly; craven 2. failing to keep… … English World dictionary
recreant — A literary rather than a modern colloquial term. Shakespeare is rather fond of it, using it as a vocative on several occasions to mean either a coward or a deserter. ‘Most recreant coward’ occurs in Henry the Fourth Part Two, but ‘recreant’… … A dictionary of epithets and terms of address
recreant — 1. adjective a) disloyal, unfaithful, surrendering allegiance. b) cowardly, craven 2. noun Somebody who is recreant. A person who yields in combat, or is cowardly and fain … Wiktionary
recreant — [ rɛkrɪənt] archaic adjective 1》 cowardly. 2》 apostate. noun a recreant person. Derivatives recreancy noun recreantly adverb Origin ME: from OFr., lit. surrendering , pres. participle of recroire, from med. L. (se) recredere surrender (oneself) … English new terms dictionary
recreant — A disloyal person. One unmindful of duty. A coward. In the course of a trial by wager of battle, a champion was said to prove recreant when he yielded to his adversary and pronounced the horrible word of craven, which signified disgrace and… … Ballentine's law dictionary
