Somewhat cowardly or showing signs of cowardice; having a slight or moderate lack of courage.
From 'coward' (from Old French 'couard', related to 'cue' meaning tail, suggesting an animal with its tail between its legs) plus the diminishing suffix '-ish' meaning 'somewhat' or 'rather'.
The '-ish' suffix is fascinating because it lets English speakers express degrees of qualities—you can be 'cowardish' without being fully cowardly, just like someone can be 'reddish' without being entirely red!
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