Lacking courage or confidence; easily discouraged or afraid; cowardly or timid.
From the noun 'faintheart' plus the suffix '-ed' (having the quality of). This compound adjective first appeared in Middle English literature and has remained in use to describe moral weakness or cowardice.
Shakespeare and his contemporaries used 'fainthearted' to describe not just physical cowardice but also moral weakness—it was a way of saying someone lacked the inner strength to do what was right, making it a more serious insult than just being scared.
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