lily-livered

adjective

lily-liv·​ered ˈli-lē-ˈli-vərd How to pronounce lily-livered (audio)
: lacking courage : cowardly

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The basis of the word lily-livered lies in an old belief. Years ago, people thought that health and temperament were the products of a balance or imbalance of four bodily fluids, or humors: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. It was believed that a deficiency of yellow bile, or choler, the humor that governed anger, spirit, and courage, would leave a person's liver colorless or white. Someone with this deficiency, and so white-livered, would be spiritless and a coward. Lily-livered and white-livered have been used synonymously since the 17th century, but lily-livered is now the more common expression, probably because of its alliteration.

Examples of lily-livered in a Sentence

the pacifist was mistakenly accused of being a lily-livered coward
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Contrary to the nationalist account, resistance has not generally been the result of America’s leaders being weak-kneed and lily-livered. Ronald R. Krebs, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1605, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lily-livered was in 1605

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Dictionary Entries Near lily-livered

Cite this Entry

“Lily-livered.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lily-livered. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

lily-livered

adjective
lily-liv·​ered
ˌlil-ē-ˈliv-ərd
Word Origin
In the Middle Ages, most of what was thought about the body was based on the theory of humors. Humors were body fluids believed to determine a person's temperament. The humor that was supposed to control anger, spirit, and courage was bile, produced by the liver. A person who lacked courage was believed to have a white liver, because it had no yellow bile to color it. Thus, a cowardly person was called white-livered or, more poetically, lily-livered.
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