coily

English

Etymology 1

From coil +‎ -y.

Adjective

coily (comparative coilier, superlative coiliest)

1. Having coils; coiling.
   • 2008, Gary David Bouton, Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended: Retouching Motion Pictures:

     The pillars in Figure 12.24 were built similarly: I designed a helix (a coily cord shape) and then swept a large 2D circle along the path the helix describes.

Etymology 2

From coy +‎ -ly.

Adverb

coily (comparative more coily, superlative most coily)

1. (rare) Obsolete form of coyly.
   • [1615], Homer, translated by Geo[rge] Chapman, Homer’s Odysses. […], London: […] Rich[ard] Field [and William Jaggard], for Nathaniell Butter, page 27:

     This said; his hand he coily snatcht away / From forth Antinous hand.

   • 1620, [Giovanni Boccaccio], translated by I. F. [attributed to John Florio], The Decameron: Containing an Hundred Pleasant Nouels. Wittily Discoursed, betweene Seauen Honourable Ladies, and Three Noble Gentlemen., London: […] Isaac Iaggard, page 13:

     She coily biting the lip, and brideling her head, as if ſhe had bene ſome mans beſt Gelding, ſprucely thus replyed.

   • 1659, [Dudley North, 3rd Baron North], A Forest Promiscuous of Several Seasons Productions. The Entrance, or, First Part., London: […] Daniel Pakeman, page 21:

     How often hath the wanton wind / To gentleſt blaſts himſelf confin’d, / Whilſt playing with you too unkind / You ſhook him off and ſtill untwin’d, / And coily turn’d another way, / Diſdaining his unlicenc’d play?

   • 1784 [1716], John Gay, “Trivia”, in The Poetical Works of John Gay. Including His Fables. In Three Volumes. With the Life of the Author. From the Royal Quarto Edition of 1720., Bell’s second edition, volume I, Edinburgh: At the Apollo Press, by the Martins, page 46, lines 261–264:

     At firſt ſhe coily ev’ry kiſs withſtood, / And all her cheek was fluſh’d with modeſt blood: / With heedleſs nails he now ſurrounds her ſhoes, / To ſave her ſteps from rains and piercing dews.

   • 1793 [1595], John Davies, “Orchestra; or, A Poem on Dancing”, in The Poetical Works of Sir John Davies. […], Edinburgh: […] Mundell and Son, […], stanza XLI, page 715, column 1:

     And ends her pavin, thirteen times as ſoon / As doth her brother, of whoſe golden hair / She borroweth part and proudly doth it wear; / Then doth ſhe coily turn her face aſide, / That half her cheek is ſcarce ſometimes deſcry’d.

2. Misspelling of coyly.
   • 1976, Yvette Stone, Half a Biography, page 1:

     She coily explained 'they are making a baby'.

   • 2001, J. Bittar, “The Old Man”, in Uncle Dave – A Love Story, Lincoln, Neb.: Writers Club Press, iUniverse.com, Inc., →ISBN, page 68:

     I got around to asking coily, “What if Aunt Lacy finds out about Miss Clarissa?”

   • 2017, Posey Parks, Relentless Chase, →ISBN:

     “What do you mean?” she asked coily.