caitiff

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈkeɪtɪf/ UK /ˈkeɪtɪf/ See IPA manual

noun adj

Meanings

1

noun
a cowardly and despicable person; base and craven

The poet branded the traitor a craven caitiff.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a cowardly and despicable... coward wretch villain craven scoundrel knavedastard

Opposites

hero champion gallant

Word family

Related forms captive

Etymology

From Old North French caitif ('captive, wretched'), from Latin captivus ('captive, prisoner'), from capere ('to take, seize'). A doublet of captive.

caitif Old French captivus Latin capere Latin

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Topics

People & Society

# caitiff

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** ˈkeɪtɪf
**IPA (UK):** ˈkeɪtɪf

## Meanings
1. a cowardly and despicable person; base and craven

## Examples
- The poet branded the traitor a craven caitiff.

## Synonyms
- coward
- wretch
- villain
- craven
- scoundrel
- knave
- dastard

## Antonyms
- hero
- champion
- gallant

## Related Forms
- captive

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: caitif
- Root: captivus
- Root: capere

## Etymology
From Old North French caitif ('captive, wretched'), from Latin captivus ('captive, prisoner'), from capere ('to take, seize'). A doublet of captive.

## AI Etymology
Caitiff is from Old North French caitif ('captive, wretched'), from Latin captivus ('captive, prisoner'), from capere ('to take, seize'). A doublet of captive. Important recorded forms include caitif (Old French), captivus (Latin), and capere (Latin). The current sense covers a cowardly and despicable person; base and craven. The wider family includes related words such as captive.

## Topics
- People & Society

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caitiff

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