It’s not even archaic, it’s dead, let alone being in common usage I guess.
The date charts show its latest citations attested in 1893, and even far earlier for a further corrupted ‘nidderLing’.
Maybe ‘fainthearted’ or ‘timid’ would be younger equivalents in this sense of ‘cowardly’.
Almost like those empty suits as in “they were verbose when they should’ve been concise”, :)