Pronounced: pree-HEN(t)-shun, noun
Notes: I didn’t know this word, but I do know a related word
Yesterday’s word
The word white-livered means “cowardly”
First usage
Our word came into English in the mid-1500s
Background / Comments
I didn’t plan to have two words in a row that both means “cowardly”; it’s just how the words happened to show up. Our word is also known as “lily-livered” and I do know that form of the word, even though I have not run across our word. It comes from the idea that a lack of courage was caused by a deficiency of bile which showed in a light-colored liver.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 