true bayard

9.9

A person who shows great courage and honesty

noun

Archaic

: verdadero bayard

During the crisis, he proved himself a true bayard, standing firm when others faltered.

Examples

Everyone in the community regarded her as a true bayard because of her honesty and bravery.
In the face of adversity, only a true bayard would risk speaking out for what is right.
John is a true bayard in his community.
Her actions showed that she is a true bayard!
During the crisis, he proved himself a true bayard, standing firm when others faltered.
Everyone in the community regarded her as a true bayard because of her honesty and bravery.
In the face of adversity, only a true bayard would risk speaking out for what is right.

Synonyms

honest John

vstrue bayard

Informal

3 6.3

A person people trust because they tell the truth and do not cheat

adds exceptional courage to a trustworthy character rather than only honesty

Antonyms

coward

Offensive

584 2.3

A person who is too afraid to face danger or hard things

dishonest

128 2.5

Likely to lie or cheat to get something for yourself

How Brave

true bayard

Archaic

9.9

hero

∞ 1.1

Surface Forms

true bayard singular

true bayards plural

Morphology

true + bayard

The noun 'bayard' is rare/archaic and not semantically transparent or widely known, so knowing 'true' does not allow a B1 learner to infer the specialized sense 'a person of exceptional courage and honesty.' There is no clear compositional logic or cross-linguistic parallel to make the meaning predictable from the parts, so the phrase is idiomatic and opaque.

Etymology

True bayard comes from a famous French knight named Bayard, who was known as 'the knight without fear and without fault' because he was brave and honest. So calling someone a true bayard means 'a person who shows great courage and honesty'.