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Comment by gerdesj | Hacker News Reader

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Most British people don’t respond well to attempts to cow them. They refuse to be cowed! To allow oneself to be cowed would be cowardly. To do so would have one accused of cowardice, of being a coward.

You are playing with language badly. The three letters c-o-w sometimes end up close to each other in English but they don't mean a literal cow (moo)!

You might examine, say: coworker. A word I never use (because I'm a Brit) but it looks to me like cow-orker.

I checked and apparently they have different etymologies, the verb "to cow" is from old Norse "kúga", to oppress), whereas "coward" comes from Old French "couard".

Sadly the UK is a favorite venue for oligarchs looking to silence critics, with feral law firms like Carter Ruck specializing in this tawdry business.

In the UK, the losing party usually pays the legal costs of the winning one, and libel litogation can cost millions, far exceeding whatever damages are awarded. Few newspapers or publishers can afford to defend such lawsuits.

It’s definitely usable as a verb, see https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cow

Well, considering their usage was in fact both correct and perfectly common, and considering that you have set the tone yourself that insulting people is ok by opening with doing it yourself, you surely cannot possibly be anything but fine with it being open season on pointing out how freaking ignorant that was eh?

Stirring an alphabet soup is not a form of argument.

I am not responsible for your incomplete grasp of the English language.

No you are not but what is your point?

> Cow is not a verb

Are you cowed yet?

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cow

See the second definition.

It’s not a common usage these days, but it’s absolutely valid, though probably unknown to most ESL folks.

"informal, disparaging + offensive : an unpleasant, annoying, or vacuous woman cowy ˈkau̇-ē adjective"

That seems rather parochial (and misogynistic). Have you ever heard or said "cowy" yourself?

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