En <coward> ~ Fr <couard> is from OF <coart>/<cuard>/<couard>, hence ME <cuard>/<cueard>.
The OF etymons are derived from OF (noun) <coe>/<cüe>/<cöe>/<coue> ~ Fr <queue> = En <tail> with the OF <ard> suffix attached. So the original meaning of all OF etymons for En <coward> is approx. {he whose tail is down}.
In Fr <Le roman de Renart> = En <Reynart the Fox>, <Coart> is the name of the hare, that is Fr <Couard> (le lièvre).
En <bastard> ~ Fr <bâtard> is from OF <bastard>/<bastart> : {of no pure race, son of a bitch, illegitimate child, diminished or lessened}.
OF etymons are probably from Old Catalan through Medieval Latin <bastardus> as most of Catalonia was then part of the Frankish Empire. Ultimately OC/ML <bastardus> could be a Germanic loanword.
En (vb) <retard> ~ Fr (vb) <retarder> is from OF (vb) <retarder> = En <delay> (the latter being from OF <delaier>).
ok, thanks for the answer, but is it true also for other names of inhabitants:
is "french" only an adjective too ? can we say "I am a french", or should we say "I am a frenchiard" ?
"This girl is a germaniard ?", "an italianiard" I bet these words didn't exist, is there some equivalent of the noun spaniard for other countries ?
This guy is a Frenchman - This girl is a Frenchwoman - The people of France are the French
This girl/guy is a German
This girl/guy is an Italian
What 's this in Afrikaans Andre?
-He/She is from Germany
-He is German
-She is German
-She is a German
-He is a German
-They are Germans
In Dutch it would be:
-Hij/Zij komt uit Duitsland
-Hij is Duits
-Zij is Duits
-Zij is een Duitse
-Hij is een Duitser
-Zij zijn Duitsers
Afrikaans?
>-He/She is from Germany
-He is German
-She is German
-She is a German
-He is a German
-They are Germans <
Hy kom van/uit Duitsland
Hy is Duits
Sy is Duits
Sy is 'n Duitser
Hy is 'n Duitser
Hulle is Duitsers
Oops, actually
Hy kom van Duitsland AF but Hy kom uit Duitsland
bernard,
adjective (for humans, non-human animates and inanimates) – noun for people
French – Frenchman / Frenchwoman
English – Englishman / Englishwoman
Irish – Irishman / Irishwoman
Dutch – Dutchman / Dutchwoman
Cornish – Cornishman / Cornishwoman
Welsh – Welshman / Welshwoman
(irregular hybrid) Scotch / Scottish – Scotsman / Scotswoman / Scot
(you can also add <French>, <French people>, <Frenchmen> and <Frenchwomen> to <Frenchman> and <Frenchwoman> ; same for <Englishman> and so on)
Savoyan / Savoyard (confirmed or infirmed ?) – Savoyard
Spanish – Spaniard
German – German
European – European
(alternance) Monegasque / Monacan – Monegasque / Monacan
<ese> suffix from OF <eis> = Fr <ais>/<ois>
Chinese – Chinese
Portuguese – Portuguese
In this context it is again interesting to note that only the 'peoples' closest to the English have been blessed with the "-man" ending.
Frenchman
Norman
Irishman
Dutchman
Cornishman
Welshman
Scotsman
German
Except that *<Norwoman> and *<Gerwoman> are perhaps not included in English vocabulary...
what is the diference with Spanish and Spaniard please ?
I am not native and it is confuse for me.
Spanish = adjective
Spaniard = noun
When you say a person is spanish in USA they think they are latinos.
In "Dangerous Minds" a character said "they are spanish" and they were clearly mexicans.
Forget the discussion about the -ard suffix, as it is clearly common; now, what puzzles me is the -ol termination as in:
· español (Spanish)
· espanhol (Portuguese)
· espanhòl/espanhòu (Occitan)
· espanyol (Valencian)
· espagnol (French)
· spagnolo (Italian)
A friend once told me that's the only gentillicium ending like that, but never got to tell me where did it come from... Anyone got a clue?
For starters, the suffix -"ard" is not productive in English today, and its use is limited to a rather small number of individual cases.
Another note is that the use of "man" in "German" has nothing to do with male human beings, but rather is part of the term itself (and yes, female Germans are still referred to as "Germans"), unlike in words like "Frenchman" or "Frenchwoman", where it is a suffixed morpheme.
