coy
See also: Coy and cố ý
English
WOTD – 15 July 2007
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kɔɪ/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔɪ
- Homophone: koi
Etymology 1
From Middle English coy, from Old French coi, earlier quei (“quiet, still”), from Latin quietus (“resting, at rest”). Doublet of quiet.
Adjective
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," 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.
- 1981, A. D. Hope, "His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell," A Book of Answers:
- Soft, gentle, hesitating.
- 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], OCLC 236076664:
- Enforced hate, / Instead of love's coy touch, shall rudely tear thee.
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Derived terms
- coy dog
- coyly
- coyness
Related terms
English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *kʷyeh₁- (0 c, 16 e)
Translations
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
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soft, gentle, hesitating
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- 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
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 606515358, [Act IV, scene i]:
- Come sit thee down upon this flowery bed, / While I thy amiable cheeks do coy.
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- (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
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Etymology 2
Compare decoy.
Noun
coy (plural coys)
- A trap from which waterfowl may be hunted.
Etymology 3
Abbreviation of company.
Noun
coy (plural coys)
- (military) A company
References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “coy”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams
- CYO
Huave
Noun
coy
- rheumatism
References
- 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) (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, pages 88, 205, 268
Noun
coy
- rabbit
References
- 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) (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, pages 88, 212, 416
Noun
coy
- short tail, stub
References
- 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) (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, pages 88, 211, 265
Middle French
Alternative forms
- coi
- quoy
Etymology
From Old French coi, from Vulgar Latin quetus, from Latin quietus.
Adjective
coy m (feminine singular coye, masculine plural coys, feminine plural coyes)
- (of a person) calm; composed
Descendants
- French: coi
Spanish
Etymology
From Dutch kooi (“bunk”). Doublet of gavia and cávea.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkoi/ [ˈkoi̯]
- Rhymes: -oi
- Syllabification: coy
Noun
coy m (plural coyes or cois)
- (nautical) a type of hammock made of sailcloth used as a makeshift bunk
Further reading
- “coy”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Wastek
Noun
coy
- rabbit