[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

caitiff \cai"tiff\, a. oe. caitif, cheitif, captive, miserable,
   of. caitif, chaitif, captive, mean, wretched, f. ch'etif,
   fr. l. captivus captive, fr. capere to take, akin to e.
   heave. see heave, and cf. captive.
   1. captive; wretched; unfortunate. obs. --chaucer.
      1913 webster

   2. base; wicked and mean; cowardly; despicable.
      1913 webster

            arnold had sped his caitiff flight.   --w. irving.
      1913 webster
see also:
heave captive 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

caitiff \cai"tiff\, n.
   a captive; a prisoner. obs.
   1913 webster

         avarice doth tyrannize over her caitiff and slave.
                                                  --holland.
   1913 webster

   2. a wretched or unfortunate man. obs. --chaucer.
      1913 webster

   3. a mean, despicable person; one whose character meanness
      and wickedness meet.
      1913 webster

   note: the deep-felt conviction of men that slavery breaks
         down the moral character . . . speaks out with . . .
         distinctness in the change of meaning which caitiff has
         undergone signifying as it now does, one of a base,
         abject disposition, while there was a time when it had
         nothing of this in it. --trench.
         1913 webster

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

caitiff
     adj : despicably mean and cowardly
     n : a cowardly and despicable person

Caitiff >> C Words
Caitiff, definition of term: Caitiff
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