A person who lacks courage; a coward or timid person.
Compound word from 'faint' (weak, timid) and 'heart' (courage, spirit). This compound emerged in Middle English to describe someone whose 'heart' or courage was 'faint' or weak.
In Elizabethan times, the heart was literally thought to be the seat of courage—so calling someone a 'faintheart' was like saying their heart was weak, a vivid insult that combined anatomy with psychology.
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