# Why does a white feather signify cowardice? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510 "2009-11-06T01:27:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/1 "2009-11-06T01:27:39Z")
To D’artagnan and Cyrano De Bergerac a white feather (aka [panache](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panache)) was a symbol of courage. Why, then, was a white feather a symbol of cowardice to [Harry Faversham](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_four_feathers)? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/2 "2009-11-06T01:52:54Z")
How about: England and France have different customs and culture resulting in different symbolic interpretations of the item in question. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/3 "2009-11-06T06:55:35Z")
According to [Webster’s Online](http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/Wh/White+feather.html), it comes from cockfighting. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/4 "2009-11-06T07:47:14Z")
Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock used to wear a white feather in his hat during his time in Vietnam. He was known as “the white feather soldier” by the Vietnamese enemies. Obviously since they had been colonised and influenced by the French, they viewed the feather as a symbol of power and bravery. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/5 "2009-11-06T14:54:21Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock used to wear a white feather in his hat during his time in Vietnam. He was known as “the white feather soldier” by the Vietnamese enemies. Obviously since they had been colonised and influenced by the French, they viewed the feather as a symbol of power and bravery. I heard him speak about 20 years ago at a Navy/Marine Corps Dining-In. For those not familiar with [GySgt Hathcock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Hathcock), he was a Marine Corps sniper in the Vietnam War. He was a very good speaker, rather quiet and unassuming. He spoke about the NVA general he killed after slowly crawling for four days in full camouflage to get in position. After killing the general, he slowly crawled away, despite the enemy soldiers trying to find him. He also killed an enemy sniper (assigned to kill him) by putting a round down the enemy sniper’s scope and scoring a direct head shot. He wore a white feather on his bush hat, supposedly to even the odds for the enemy. ---
**Author:** ![Bisected8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a4c791/32.png) [@Bisected8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bisected8)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/6 "2009-11-06T15:14:30Z")
According to wikipedia the idea that a white feather signifies cowardice comes from the idea that a cock in a cock fight with a white tail feather would perform poorly as it was a sign it wasn’t purebred; > **[White feather](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_feather#A_symbol_of_cowardice)** > > The white feather is a widely recognised propaganda symbol. It has, among other things, represented cowardice or conscientious pacifism; as in A. E. W. Mason's 1902 book The Four Feathers. In Britain during the First World War it was often given to males out of uniform by women to shame them publicly into signing up. In the United States armed forces, however, it is used to signify extraordinary bravery and excellence in combat marksmanship. > The use of the phrase "white feather" to symbolise... ---
**Author:** ![tallcoldone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@tallcoldone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tallcoldone)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/7 "2009-11-06T17:02:50Z")
My son’s high school fight song has the line “… we’ll not show white feather…” I understood the meaning but not the reference. Ignorance fought! ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/8 "2009-11-07T08:12:32Z")
The story I heard was that steam-powered riverboats on the Mississippi used to engage in races, not just for the sport of it, but to ensure bragging rights as the fastest boat on the river. Naturally, steam boilers would not generate steam beyond a certain point as the safety valve would open automatically to vent dangerously high steam pressure. Well…if he wanted to win a race badly enough, the boat’s captain could shut down the safety valve to allow pressure to build to the point where the boiler, the boat and all aboard it were in peril of a catastrophic explosion. If sanity prevailed (as it occasionally did) one or another of the captains would admit defeat by opening the safety valve and allowing a huge plume of steam to escape. This was visible to all, and was seen as a major wuss-out. It was described as showing the white feather; kind of like blinking in a face-to-face contest. BTW, There is a small mining town in Colorado called Silver Plume which got its name from the bursts of steam generated by the locomotives that served the local mines. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/9 "2009-11-07T08:22:50Z")
If you’re interested in the social implications of The White Feather, then the 1939 version of _The Four Feathers_ is well worth seeing. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/10 "2009-11-07T17:33:31Z")
Do you have a cite for that, **movingfinger**? It sounds like folk etymology. ---
**Author:** ![Bisected8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a4c791/32.png) [@Bisected8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bisected8)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/11 "2009-11-07T18:08:57Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Do you have a cite for that, **movingfinger**? It sounds like folk etymology. I’m going to agree with this. The fact that it seems (according the the wikipedia article) to have less significance in the US (as it can also be a symbol of something other than cowardice) implies it may well have an origin outside the US. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/12 "2009-11-07T19:35:21Z")
> [@robby](#): > > For those not familiar with [GySgt Hathcock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Hathcock), he was a Marine Corps sniper in the Vietnam War. And an Arkansan. Outstanding! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/13 "2009-11-07T21:25:40Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > According to [Webster’s Online](http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/Wh/White+feather.html), it comes from cockfighting. > [@Bisected8](#): > > According to wikipedia the idea that a white feather signifies cowardice comes from the idea that a cock in a cock fight with a white tail feather would perform poorly as it was a sign it wasn’t purebred. Thanks, this appears well cited. Does anyone know how come a panache was a symbol of courage to Cyrano? ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/14 "2009-11-07T22:03:12Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Does anyone know how come a panache was a symbol of courage to Cyrano? White was the dominant colour of the French army before the revolution since it was the colour of the house of Bourbon. They had white banners and uniforms and officers wore a white silk scarf around the neck, so it’s pretty easy to picture a big white plume fitting right in as a sign of status. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/15 "2009-11-08T05:47:46Z")
Nope; no cite, I don’t recall where I read it, and it may well be folk etymology. But it’s _good_ folk etymology! ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/16 "2009-11-08T06:15:17Z")
> [@Telperion](#): > > White was the dominant colour of the French army before the revolution since it was the colour of the house of Bourbon. They had white banners and uniforms and officers wore a white silk scarf around the neck, so it’s pretty easy to picture a big white plume fitting right in as a sign of status. Yes, Comte de Guiche had a white scarf of rank, which he threw away in battle in order to escape being shot. Cyrano wore his large white plume to battle as a contrast, so show up his rival’s cowardice and to draw fire. So I thought that it became the symbol in the play because of the reason he wore it in battle, as a sign of his bravery. (Not sure about D’Artagnan, since in point of time I believe he came before Cyrano.) Could it be a question of size? Cyrano’s was a large white plume; the four feathers given to Harry Faversham were small, like wing feathers (based on the aforementioned 1939 version of the movie). Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/17 "2009-11-08T06:36:49Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Could it be a question of size? Cyrano’s was a large white plume; the four feathers given to Harry Faversham were small, like wing feathers (based on the aforementioned 1939 version of the movie). I believe the fourth feather given to Faversham in the novel was an ostrich feather from his fiancee’s hat, but otherwise I believe white chicken feathers (or something equally small) were used. Also, the correct protocol was for an Officer or Gentleman would attach his calling card to the white feather, so the accused would know exactly who was calling him a coward. Of course, feathers were also sent anonymously (as late as WWI, I believe) but that sort of thing was heavily frowned upon. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/18 "2009-11-08T14:26:57Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > (Not sure about D’Artagnan, since in point of time I believe he came before Cyrano.) > > Roddy Historically, Dartagnan 1611-1673, Cyrano 1619-1655 D’artagnan is actually a minor character in Rostand’s play. He and Cyrano meet in act 1. I thi9nk he has one line. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-white-feather-signify-cowardice/516510/19 "2009-11-08T19:14:34Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Yes, Comte de Guiche had a white scarf of rank, which he threw away in battle in order to escape being shot. Cyrano wore his large white plume to battle as a contrast, so show up his rival’s cowardice and to draw fire. So I thought that it became the symbol in the play because of the reason he wore it in battle, as a sign of his bravery. > > (Not sure about D’Artagnan, since in point of time I believe he came before Cyrano.) > > Could it be a question of size? Cyrano’s was a large white plume; the four feathers given to Harry Faversham were small, like wing feathers (based on the aforementioned 1939 version of the movie). > Roddy There’s also a pun, or play on words there in the original French : the while plume Cyrano bears in battle is called a _panache blanc_. Cyrano, of course, his well known for his moral panache, which he takes all the way to the grave. The white plume(s) as a badge of courage in France dates I believe back to king Henri IV, who would lead his troops into battle from the front rather than the back rows, wearing white feathers on his helmet and telling his soldiers to “follow my white panache !”, which made him distinctive in battle… and a target.