coy
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English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Middle English coy, from Old French coi, earlier quei (“quiet, still”), from Latin quiētus (“resting, at rest”). Doublet of quiet.
Adjective[edit]
coy (comparative coyer, superlative coyest)
- (dated) Bashful, shy, retiring.
- (archaic) Quiet, reserved, modest.
- Reluctant to give details about something sensitive; notably prudish.
- Pretending shyness or modesty, especially in an insincere or flirtatious way.
- 1981, A. D. Hope, “His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell”, in A Book of Answers:
- 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.
- Soft, gentle, hesitating.
- 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC:
- Enforced hate, / Instead of love's coy touch, shall rudely tear thee.
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
bashful, shy
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archaic: quiet, reserved, modest
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reluctant to give details about something sensitive
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pretending shyness or modesty
soft, gentle, hesitating
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Verb[edit]
coy (third-person singular simple present coys, present participle coying, simple past and past participle coyed)
- (transitive, obsolete) To caress, pet; to coax, entice.
- c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
- Come sit thee down upon this flowery bed, / While I thy amiable cheeks do coy.
- (transitive, obsolete) To calm or soothe.
- (transitive, obsolete) To allure; to decoy.
- 1635, Edward Rainbowe, Labour Forbidden, and Commanded. A Sermon Preached at St. Pauls[sic] Church, September 28. 1634., London: Nicholas Vavasour, page 29:
- For now there are ſprung up a wiſer generation in this kind, who have the Art to coy the fonder ſort into their nets
Etymology 2[edit]
Compare decoy.
Noun[edit]
coy (plural coys)
Etymology 3[edit]
Abbreviation of company.
Noun[edit]
coy (plural coys)
References[edit]
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “coy”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams[edit]
Huave[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Noun[edit]
coy
References[edit]
- Stairs Kreger, Glenn Albert, Scharfe de Stairs, Emily Florence, Olvaries Oviedo, Proceso, Ponce Villanueva, Tereso, Comonfort Llave, Lorenzo (1981) Diccionario huave de San Mateo del Mar (Serie de vocabularios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 24)[1] (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, pages 88, 205, 268
Etymology 2[edit]
Noun[edit]
coy
References[edit]
- Stairs Kreger, Glenn Albert, Scharfe de Stairs, Emily Florence, Olvaries Oviedo, Proceso, Ponce Villanueva, Tereso, Comonfort Llave, Lorenzo (1981) Diccionario huave de San Mateo del Mar (Serie de vocabularios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 24)[2] (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, pages 88, 212, 416
Etymology 3[edit]
Noun[edit]
coy
References[edit]
- Stairs Kreger, Glenn Albert, Scharfe de Stairs, Emily Florence, Olvaries Oviedo, Proceso, Ponce Villanueva, Tereso, Comonfort Llave, Lorenzo (1981) Diccionario huave de San Mateo del Mar (Serie de vocabularios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 24)[3] (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, pages 88, 211, 265
Indonesian[edit]
Noun[edit]
coy (first-person possessive coyku, second-person possessive coymu, third-person possessive coynya)
Middle French[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old French coi, from Vulgar Latin quetus, from Latin quietus.
Adjective[edit]
coy m (feminine singular coye, masculine plural coys, feminine plural coyes)
Descendants[edit]
- French: coi
Spanish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Dutch kooi (“bunk”). Doublet of gavia and cávea.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “coy”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Wastek[edit]
Noun[edit]
coy
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