Having a cowardly or weak heart; lacking courage or showing a bovine (cattle-like) temperament.
Compound adjective formed from 'cow' (associated with passivity and docility in animal symbolism) plus 'heart' plus the adjectival suffix '-ed', suggesting a person has the fearful nature of cattle.
Calling someone 'cowhearted' combines the passivity and herd-following nature of cattle with 'heart' (the seat of courage in older philosophy)—it's a clever double-meaning insult invented long before we understood actual cow intelligence!
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