Middle English: from Old French couard, based on Latin cauda ‘tail’, possibly with reference to a frightened animal with its tail between its legs, reflected in coward (sense 2 of the adjective) (early 16th century)
中世英語:ラテン語のcauda「尾」に基づく古フランス語のcouardから、おそらく尾を股に挟んで怯える動物にちなんで、coward(形容詞の意味2)(16世紀前半)に反映された。