# Why are Cowards Chickens? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 16, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234 "2009-07-16T17:12:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/1 "2009-07-16T17:12:39Z")
In my experience, chickens are not particularly chicken. There seem to be a lot of better choices (e.g. groundhogs, those ultimate wimps). ---
**Author:** ![otorophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3ab097/32.png) [@otorophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otorophile)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/2 "2009-07-16T17:16:17Z")
I’m not sure, but [the online etymology dictionary](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=chicken&searchmode=none) says the usage dates back to at least the 14th century. Maybe groundhogs weren’t known back then? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/3 "2009-07-16T17:32:13Z")
Maybe it’s because (from my experience with chickens on the farm), they tend to squawk and make a big to-do when scared and running, rather than just fleeing. That said, if it dates to the 1300s,then they wouldn’t be talking about farm chickens as we know them… ---
**Author:** ![SmashTheState](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@SmashTheState](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmashTheState)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/4 "2009-07-16T18:34:26Z")
An interesting, somewhat relevent note: my family coat of arms has three chickens on it. I can’t imagine my clan would have marched to battle under a banner of cowardice, so chickens were not universally regarded as cowardly. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/5 "2009-07-16T18:42:45Z")
> [@SmashTheState](#): > > An interesting, somewhat relevent note: my family coat of arms has three chickens on it. I can’t imagine my clan would have marched to battle under a banner of cowardice, so chickens were not universally regarded as cowardly. They still aren’t by any stretch: [http://www.sc.edu/usc/gamecock.html](http://www.sc.edu/usc/gamecock.html) ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/6 "2009-07-16T19:07:55Z")
I think “scaredy cat” is a much more appropriate term. If you’ve ever seen how feral cats typically behave, you’ll know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/7 "2009-07-16T20:00:12Z")
I’ve heard that it dates back to Roman times, since the Latin words for “Frenchman” and “Chicken” are almost identical. Originally, the Romans were calling cowards Frenchmen, but it ended up getting mistranslated. Of course, this is also the sort of factoid that Latin teachers like to make up to bamboozle their students, so take with a grain of _sal_. ---
**Author:** ![ricksummon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ricksummon/32/3333_2.png) [@ricksummon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricksummon)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/8 "2009-07-16T21:21:19Z")
It definitely goes back to Roman times, since Biff Tannen’s distant Roman ancestor called Marty a chicken in _Back To The Future: The Animated Series._ It’s also a little-known fact that the phrase “Why don’t you make like a tree and leaf” was invented then, but no Tannen since then has ever been able to get the hang of it. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/9 "2009-07-16T21:26:35Z")
> [@ricksummon](#): > > It definitely goes back to Roman times, since Biff Tannen’s distant Roman ancestor called Marty a chicken in _Back To The Future: The Animated Series._ It’s also a little-known fact that the phrase “Why don’t you make like a tree and leaf” was invented then, but no Tannen since then has ever been able to get the hang of it. Well, I can’t touch that. It’s settled. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/10 "2009-07-16T23:12:55Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ve heard that it dates back to Roman times, since the Latin words for “Frenchman” and “Chicken” are almost identical. Originally, the Romans were calling cowards Frenchmen, but it ended up getting mistranslated. > > Of course, this is also the sort of factoid that Latin teachers like to make up to bamboozle their students, so take with a grain of _sal_. Gallus is in fact the Latin would for Chicken (Rooster to be more specific) and also the name of the residents of Gaul, much of which is now France. So the “factoid” is at least true in that sense. Whether Romans were trying to calling cowards Frenchmen is something else, and smells too much of the latter day “cheese eating surrender monkey” stereotype for me to think it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/11 "2009-07-16T23:51:06Z")
> [@otorophile](#): > > I’m not sure, but [the online etymology dictionary](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=chicken&searchmode=none) says the usage dates back to at least the 14th century. Maybe groundhogs weren’t known back then? I take issue with that, although the author of that dictionary is pretty good most of the time. My Chambers _Dictionary of Etymology_ cites it this way: > [@](#): > > The word was applied in a disparaging sense in Middle English as early as 1330 and had the meaning of cowardly person in the phrase _cherles chekyn_ probably before 1400, in _Morte Arthur_. But, the OED cites as the first usage as cowardly in Shakespeare > [@OED](#): > > 1611 SHAKES. Cymb. V. iii. 42 Forthwith they flye Chickens, the way which they stopt [Globe ed. stoop’d] Eagles. 1633 T. STAFFORD Pac. Hib. xix. (1821) 199 Not finding the Defendants to be Chikins, to be afraid of every cloud or kite. 1707 FARQUHAR Beaux’ Strat. IV. iii. 54 Gib. You assure me that Scrub is a Coward. Bou. A Chicken, as the saying is. 1936 Amer. Speech XI. 279/2 Chicken, a timid soul; a sissy. 1941 Life 15 Dec. 89 Gets chicken. 1945 Amer. Speech XX. 147/2 A person is ‘chicken’ when he abides too closely by army rules and regulations, or when he misuses or abuses authority, especially in minor or petty matters. 1952 S. ELLIN . Notice that the cowardly meaning is around in English between 1600-early 1700, and then isn’t used much until the 20th century. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/12 "2009-07-16T23:57:26Z")
Remember that “chicken” was originally applied only to the young of the species (modern “chick”). Perhaps they’re not saying “domestic fowl = coward” but “cowardly, like a very young thing.” ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/13 "2009-07-17T00:09:44Z")
In some Asian countries, cowards are called rabbits. ---
**Author:** ![SweetLucy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@SweetLucy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SweetLucy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/14 "2009-07-17T01:08:22Z")
> [@SmashTheState](#): > > An interesting, somewhat relevent note: my family coat of arms has three chickens on it. I can’t imagine my clan would have marched to battle under a banner of cowardice, so chickens were not universally regarded as cowardly. Brave Sir Robin 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/15 "2009-07-17T02:32:21Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > Gallus is in fact the Latin would for Chicken (Rooster to be more specific) and also the name of the residents of Gaul, much of which is now France. So the “factoid” is at least true in that sense. Whether Romans were trying to calling cowards Frenchmen is something else, and smells too much of the latter day “cheese eating surrender monkey” stereotype for me to think it’s true. Interestingly, the rooster is a national symbol of France. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/16 "2009-07-17T09:00:35Z")
I haven’t seen any evidence that Romans called cowards anything related to chickens; if they did, I assume they’d have said “pullus” rather than “gallus”; roosters are mean little f\*ckers. Also, given that the Gauls sacked Rome in 290 BC, and gave Julius Caesar a hell of a time in 58 BC, I doubt that the Romans ever called them cowards (although they were considered a bit less fearsome than the Germani and the Helvetii). Not that the Gauls could be considered “Frenchmen” anyway – that term only became meaningful hundreds of years later, after the Franks conquered northern Gaul. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/17 "2009-07-17T12:46:35Z")
For that matter, why should a “yellow belly” connote cowardice? (Band name: Yellow-Bellied Chicken). ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/18 "2009-07-17T13:01:04Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > Interestingly, the rooster is a national symbol of France. As a famous French comedian quipped, “because it’s the only bird that’ll sing when he’s knee deep in shite” ;). As for why chicken are a symbol for cowardice, I’d say it’s because they’re really, really bothersome to catch, and I surmise they were even more so in the days before coops and wire fences. The little buggers are _fast_. ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/19 "2009-07-17T13:06:54Z")
The bawk-bawk of the chicken combined with the tucked arm flapping is an irresistible challenge to young males faced with a stupid dare or unwise fight. Next time you want to bait someone by questioning their courage, try making the sound of a rabbit or groundhog, and see how that goes over. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234/20 "2009-07-17T13:27:06Z")
> [@SweetLucy](#): > > Brave Sir Robin 🙂 Now go change your armor! [http://www.dailyllama.com/spam/games/images/diamond\_select\_robin.jpg](http://www.dailyllama.com/spam/games/images/diamond_select_robin.jpg) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cowards-chickens/503234.md?page=2)