Subj : Re: Ru
To   : Dallas Hinton
From : Anton Shepelev
Date : Fri Aug 30 2024 11:51:12

Dallas Hinton about `coward':

DH> I've never seen the word used as an adjective. I suspect
DH> it's an archaic usage. The Cambridge dictionary doesn't
DH> define it as an adjective (listing only "cowardly"),
DH> same for Merriam-Webster, Collins, and the Britannica
DH> Dictionary. The Oxford dictionary shows it used an
DH> adjective but last used in 1818!

1913 Webster lists `coward' as an adjective:

  <http://dict.org/bin/Dict?Form=Dict2&Database=gcide&Query=coward>

So I was too blunt.

I think `coward' /can/ be an adjective by virtue of the
ability of nouns in English to become adjectives in certain
cirsumstances, such as:

  systems (vs. systematic) programming
  fall guy
  finger man
  glass (not glassy) jar.

That said, `coward' is no more an ajective than `widow' in
the famous tautology `widow woman'.

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