Part 621

Cow"ard*ize (-&?;z), v. t. To render cowardly. [Obs.]

God . . . cowardizeth . . . insolent spirits. Bp. Hall.

Cow"ard*li*ness (-l?-n?s), n. Cowardice.

Cow"ard*ly, a. 1. Wanting courage; basely or weakly timid or fearful; pusillanimous; spiritless.

The cowardly rascals that ran from the battle. Shak.

2. Proceeding from fear of danger or other consequences; befitting a coward; dastardly; base; as, cowardly malignity. Macaulay.

The cowardly rashness of those who dare not look danger in the face. Burke.

Syn. -- Timid; fearful; timorous; dastardly; pusillanimous; recreant; craven; faint-hearted; chicken-hearted; white-livered.

Cow"ard*ly, adv. In the manner of a coward. Spenser.

Cow"ard*ship, n. Cowardice. [Obs.] Shak.

Cow"bane` (kou"bān`), n. (Bot.) A poisonous umbelliferous plant; in England, the Cicuta virosa; in the United States, the Cicuta maculata and the Archemora rigida. See Water hemlock.

Cow"ber`ry (-b&ebreve;r`r&ybreve;), n.; pl. Cowberries (- r&ibreve;z). (Bot.) A species of Vaccinium (V. Vitis-idŠa), which bears acid red berries which are sometimes used in cookery; -- locally called mountain cranberry.

Cow"bird` (-b&etilde;rd`), n. (Zo÷l.) The cow blackbird (Molothrus ater), an American starling. Like the European cuckoo, it builds no nest, but lays its eggs in the nests of other birds; -- so called because frequently associated with cattle.

Cow"blakes` (-blāks`), n. pl. Dried cow dung used as fuel.[Prov. Eng.] Simmonds.

Cow"boy` (-boi`), n. 1. A cattle herder; a drover; specifically, one of an adventurous class of herders and drovers on the plains of the Western and Southwestern United States.

2. One of the marauders who, in the Revolutionary War infested the neutral ground between the American and British lines, and committed depredations on the Americans.

Cow"catch`er (-k?ch`?r), n. A strong inclined frame, usually of wrought-iron bars, in front of a locomotive engine, for catching or throwing off obstructions on a railway, as cattle; the pilot. [U.S.]

Cow"die (kou"d&ybreve;), n. (Bot.) See Kauri.

Cow"er (kou"&etilde;r), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Cowered (kou"&etilde;rd); p. pr. & vb. n. Cowering.] [Cf. Icel. kera to doze, liequiet, Sw. kura, Dan. kure, G. kauern to cower, W. cwrian.] To stoop by bending the knees; to crouch; to squat; hence, to quail; to sink through fear.

Our dame sits cowering o'er a kitchen fire. Dryden.

Like falcons, cowering on the nest. Goldsmith.

Cow"er (kou"&etilde;r), v. t. To cherish with care. [Obs.]

Cow"fish` (-f&ibreve;sh`), n. (Zo÷l.) (a) The grampus. (b) A California dolphin (Tursiops Gillii). (c) A marine plectognath fish (Ostracoin quadricorne, and allied species), having two projections, like horns, in front; -- called also cuckold, coffer fish, trunkfish.

Cow"hage (kou"h&asl;j), n. [Cf. Hind. kaw&amc;nch, koānch.] (Bot.) A leguminous climbing plant of the genus Mucuna, having crooked pods covered with sharp hairs, which stick to the fingers, causing intolerable itching. The spiculŠ are sometimes used in medicine as a mechanical vermifuge. [Written also couhage, cowage, and cowitch.]

Cow"heart`ed (-h?rt`?d), a. Cowardly.

The Lady Powis . . . patted him with her fan, and called him a cowhearted fellow. R. North.

Cow"herd` (-h?rd`), n. [AS. cūhyrde; cū cow + hyrde a herder.] One whose occupation is to tend cows.

Cow"hide` (-h?d`), n. 1. The hide of a cow.