Crossword clues for recreant
recreant
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Recreant \Rec"re*ant\ (-ant), a. [OF., cowardly, fr. recroire, recreire, to forsake, leave, tire, discourage, regard as conquered, LL. recredere se to declare one's self conquered in combat; hence, those are called recrediti or recreanti who are considered infamous; L. pref. re- again, back + credere to believe, to be of opinion; hence, originally, to disavow one's opinion. See Creed.]
Crying for mercy, as a combatant in the trial by battle; yielding; cowardly; mean-spirited; craven. ``This recreant knight.''
--Spenser.-
Apostate; false; unfaithful.
Who, for so many benefits received, Turned recreant to God, ingrate and false.
--Milton.
Recreant \Rec"re*ant\, n.
One who yields in combat, and begs for mercy; a
mean-spirited, cowardly wretch.
--Blackstone.
You are all recreants and dastards!
--Shak.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
c.1300, "confessing oneself to be overcome or vanquished," from Old French recreant "defeated, vanquished, yielding, giving; weak, exhausted; cowardly," present participle adjective from recroire "to yield in a trial by combat, surrender allegiance," literally "believe again;" perhaps on notion of "take back one's pledge, yield one's cause," from re- "again, back" (see re-) + croire "entrust, believe," from Latin credere (see credo). Non sufficit ... nisi dicat illud verbum odiosum, quod recreantus sit. [Bracton, c.1260]Meaning "cowardly" in English is from late 14c. Meaning "unfaithful to duty" is from 1640s.
"one who yields in combat, one who begs for mercy, one who admits defeat," early 15c., hence "coward, faint-hearted wretch;" from recreant (adj.) and from Old French recreant as a noun, "one who acknowledges defeat, a craven, coward, renegade, traitor, wretch." In English, sense of "apostate, deserter, villain" is from 1560s.
Wiktionary
a. 1 (context now rare poetic English) Having admitted defeat and surrendered; defeated. (from 13th c.) 2 (context now poetic literary English) unfaithful to someone, or to one's duties or honour; disloyal, false. (from 17th c.) n. Somebody who is recreant. A person who yields in combat, or is cowardly and faint-hearted.
WordNet
adj. having deserted a cause or principle; "some provinces had proved recreant"; "renegade supporters of the usurper" [syn: renegade]
lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful; "the craven fellow turned and ran"; "a craven proposal to raise the white flag"; "this recreant knight"- Spenser [syn: craven]
a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc. [syn: deserter, apostate, renegade, turncoat, ratter]
Usage examples of "recreant".
And, taking it for Nature, place in ban Our Mother, as a Power wanton-willed, The shame and baffler of the soul of man, The recreant, reptilious.
Vnknightly Knight, the blemish of that name,And blot of all that armes vppon them take,Which is the badge of honour and of fame,Loe I defie thee, and here challenge make,That thou for euer doe those armes forsake,And be for euer held a recreant Knight,Vnlesse thou dare for thy deare Ladies sake,And for thine owne defence on foote alight,To iustifie thy fault gainst me in equall fight.
There whilest he thus was setling things aboue,Atwene that Ladie myld and recreant knight,To whom his life he graunted for her loue,He gan bethinke him, in what perilous plightHe had behynd him left that saluage wight,Amongst so many foes, whom sure he thoughtBy this quite slaine in so vnequall fight:Therefore descending backe in haste, he soughtIf yet he were aliue, or to destruction brought.
And in the way he with Sir Guyon met,Accompanyde with Phædria the faire,Eftsoones he gan to rage, and inly fret,Crying, Let be that Ladie debonaire,Thou recreant knight, and soone thy selfe prepaireTo battell, if thou meane her loue to gaine:Loe, loe alreadie, how the fowles in aireDoe flocke, awaiting shortly to obtaineThy carcasse for their pray, the guerdon of thy paine.
Not only had her recreant spawn given the bastard sufficient forewarning so he and his man were able to arm and fight their way out of the hall—killing four good Christian men in the process—but the shameless hussies had most certainly been responsible for jamming the closing mechanism of the main gate and had been waiting in the courtyard with saddled horses.
Not only had her recreant spawn given the bastard sufficient forewarning so he and his man were able to arm and fight their way out of the hallkilling four good Christian men in the processbut the shameless hussies had most certainly been responsible for jamming the closing mechanism of the main gate and had been waiting in the courtyard with saddled horses.
Knocked two of the recreants down, and already was prepared to seize Esther in his arms, make a wild dash for the door, and run with her, whither only God knew, when Rateau, that awful consumptive reprobate, crept slyly up behind him and dealt him a swift and heavy blow on the skull with his weighted stick.
The words shall scarce have left thy lips, ere thou wilt either be an hundred feet under ground, in the dungeon of the Preceptory, to abide trial as a recreant knight.