Caitiff

Caitiff
Caitiff Cai"tiff, n. A captive; a prisoner. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

Avarice doth tyrannize over her caitiff and slave. --Holland. [1913 Webster]

2. A wretched or unfortunate man. [Obs.] --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

3. A mean, despicable person; one whose character meanness and wickedness meet. [1913 Webster]

Note: The deep-felt conviction of men that slavery breaks down the moral character . . . speaks out with . . . distinctness in the change of meaning which caitiff has undergone signifying as it now does, one of a base, abject disposition, while there was a time when it had nothing of this in it. --Trench. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Caitiff — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Los Caitiff, en el universo ficticio del juego de rol de Vampiro: La Mascarada, son vampiros de sangre tan débil que no se puede decir que pertenezcan a ningún clan. No se hallan en ellos las disciplinas… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Caitiff — Cai tiff, a. [OE. caitif, cheitif, captive, miserable, OF. caitif, chaitif, captive, mean, wretched, F. ch[ e]tif, fr. L. captivus captive, fr. capere to take, akin to E. heave. See {Heave}, and cf. {Captive}.] 1. Captive; wretched; unfortunate.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • caitiff — I adjective abject, afraid, base, baseborn, brutish, churlish, craven, currish, dastardly, despicable, faint hearted, fear stricken, ignoble, ignominious, low, lowborn, mean spirited, of low extraction, of low origin, of mean extraction, of mean… …   Law dictionary

  • caitiff — c.1300, from O.N.Fr. caitive captive, miserable (O.Fr. chatif, 12c., Mod.Fr. chétif puny, sickly, poor, weak ), from L. captivum (see CAPTIVE (Cf. captive), which was a later, scholarly borrowing of the same word). In most Romance languages, it… …   Etymology dictionary

  • caitiff — [kāt′if] n. [ME < OFr caitif, a captive, wretched man < L captivus, CAPTIVE] a mean, evil, or cowardly person adj. evil, mean, or cowardly …   English World dictionary

  • caitiff — adjective Etymology: Middle English caitif, from Anglo French caitif, chaitif wretched, despicable, from Latin captivus captive Date: 14th century cowardly, despicable • caitiff noun …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • caitiff — 1. noun /ˈkeɪtɪf/ a) A base or despicable person; a wretch For, certes, lord, þer is noon of us alle / Þat she ne haþ been a duchesse or a queene. / Now be we caytyves, as it is wel seene, / Þanked be Fortune and hire false wheel b) a villain, a… …   Wiktionary

  • Caitiff — A prisoner; a cowardly, wicked person. [< OldFr. caitiff = captive < Lat. captivus = captive] …   Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases

  • caitiff — /kay tif/, Archaic. n. 1. a base, despicable person. adj. 2. base; despicable. [1250 1300; ME caitif < AF < L captivus CAPTIVE] * * * …   Universalium

  • Caitiff — Los Caittif, en el universo ficticio del juego de rol de , son chiquillos sin sire (bien porque fueron abandonan o porque los sire fueron destruidos). Muchas veces, en momentos concretos, un vampiro crea chiquillos sin tener permiso violando por… …   Enciclopedia Universal

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