File under “Herd, Cow and Shep”: There is no cow in coward.
A number of insulting words have been grown in rustic and agricultural settings, including villain (originally the worker who
tended the lands of a villa). Despite the occasional speculation that it is pejorative reference to the hard-working cowherd, coward is not among these words. Fueling the speculation that coward resulted from the likely swallowing of the h in cowherd is the way we pronounce “sheperd” for the sheep-herder. But there is no cow in coward. Unless it is refers to a frightened heifer turning tail.
The key word in coward is actually French: coue, meaning “tail.” The insulting word coward pins a tail on the tail by adding the suffix -ard, in a word-formation similar to other insults like dullard, sluggard and drunkard. Our coward, therefore, is someone who displays his tail by having turned it and tucked it tenaciously between his legs.
And what of a sentence like “The coward cowherd cowered”? Delightful coincidence, and nothing more. Cower is likely of Scandinavian origin, and originally had neutral meanings of squatting or bending over.
Also of likely Scandinavian origin is another word that our frightened heifer can take heart in, though, again, it is unrelated to the other similar sounds in this discussion. To cow is to intimidate. So, young heifer, turn around and stand up to your herder. You’re bigger than he is. Cow, cow the coward cowherd!