white feather
Preserved but no longer current.
Sense 1
He has a white feather; he is a coward; an allusion to a game cock, where having a white feather is a proof he is not of the true game breed.
người hèn hạ, ám chỉ gà trống có lông trắng không phải giống thuần chủng
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Sense 2
"to show the WHITE FEATHER," to evince cowardice. In times when great attention was paid to the breeding of game-cocks, a white feather in the tail was considered a proof of cross-breeding.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “white feather” mean?
He has a white feather; he is a coward; an allusion to a game cock, where having a white feather is a proof he is not of the true game breed.
Is “white feather” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.