pusillanimity

Founding-era definition · Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

PUSILLANIM'ITY, noun [Latin pusillanimitas; pusillus, small, weak, and animus, courage.] Want of that firmness and strength of mind which constitutes courage or fortitude; weakness of spirit; cowardliness; that feebleness of mind which shrinks from trifling or imaginary dangers. It is obvious to distinguish between an act of pusillanimity and an act of great modesty or humility.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI

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