coy
adjectiveverbnounnounattested in dialogue
- //kɔɪ//
Reluctant to give details about something sensitive; notably prudish.
adjective
- 1
datedBashful, shy, retiring.
- 2
archaicQuiet, reserved, modest.
- 3
Reluctant to give details about something sensitive; notably prudish.
- 4
Pretending shyness or modesty, especially in an insincere or flirtatious way.
The ill-bred miss, the bird-brained Jill, / May simper and be coy at will; / A lady, sir, as you will find, / Keeps counsel, or she speaks her mind, / Means what she says and scorns to fence / And palter with feigned innocence.
- 5
Soft, gentle, hesitating.
Enforced hate, / Instead of love's coy touch, shall rudely tear thee.
Etymology
From Middle English coy, from Old French coi, earlier quei (“quiet, still”), from Latin qu(i)ētus (“resting, at rest”). Doublet of quit, quiet, quite, and quietus.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo caress, pet; to coax, entice.
Come sit thee down upon this flowery bed, / While I thy amiable cheeks do coy.
- 2
obsoleteTo calm or soothe.
- 3
obsoleteTo allure; to decoy.
For now there are ſprung up a wiſer generation in this kind, who have the Art to coy the fonder ſort into their nets
noun
- 1
A trap from which waterfowl may be hunted.
Etymology
Compare decoy.
noun
- 1
A company
Etymology
Abbreviation of company.
Forms
- plural
- coys
- comparative
- coyer
- superlative
- coyest
- past tense
- coyed
- past participle
- coyed
- present participle
- coying
- third person singular
- coys
coy · Reluctant to give details about something sensitive; notably prudish.
Coy · A surname.coyote · Canis latrans, a species of canine native to North America.Coyote · An island of El Salvador.