Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Craven

Cra′ven (kr?′v'n), a. [OE. cravant, cravaunde, OF. cravanté struck down, p. p. of cravanter, crevanter, to break, crush, strike down, fr. an assumed LL. crepantare, fr. L. crepans, p. pr. of crepare to break, crack, rattle. Cf. Crevice, Crepitate.] Cowardly; fainthearted; spiritless. "His craven heart." Shak.

The poor craven bridegroom said never a word. Sir. W. Scott.

In craven fear of the sarcasm of Dorset. Macaulay.

Cra′ven, n. [Formerly written also cravant and cravent.] A recreant; a coward; a weak-hearted, spiritless fellow. See Recreant, n.

King Henry. Is it fit this soldier keep his oath? Fluellen. He is a craven and a villain else. Shak.

Syn. — Coward; poltroon; dastard.

Cra′ven, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cravened (-v'nd); p. pr. & vb. n. Cravening.] To make recreant, weak, spiritless, or cowardly. [Obs.]

There is a prohibition so divine, That cravens my weak hand. Shak.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.