Coy - Wiktionary

See also: Coy and cố ý

Translingual

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Etymology

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Clipping of English Coyaima.

Symbol

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coy

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Coyaima.

See also

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• Wiktionary’s coverage of Coyaima terms

English

[edit] WOTD – 15 July 2007

Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /kɔɪ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

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• Rhymes: -ɔɪ
• Homophone: koi

Etymology 1

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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.

Adjective

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coy (comparative coyer, superlative coyest)

1. (dated) Bashful, shy, retiring.
2. (archaic) Quiet, reserved, modest.
3. Reluctant to give details about something sensitive; notably prudish.
4. 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.
5. 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

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• accoy
• coily
• coyish
• coyly
• coyness
• overcoy
• uncoy

Related terms

[edit] English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *kʷyeh₁- (0 c, 21 e)

Translations

[edit] bashful, shy

Bulgarian: свенлив (bg) (svenliv), срамежлив (bg) (sramežliv) Czech: ostýchavý (cs), nesmělý, plachý (cs), stydlivý (cs) Dutch: bedeesd (nl), timide (nl), verlegen (nl) Finnish: ujo (fi) French: timide (fr) Galician: tímido, túzaro (gl) Georgian: მორცხვი (morcxvi) German: keusch (de), verlegen (de) Hungarian: szégyenlős (hu), félénk (hu), szemérmes (hu) Italian: timido (it) m Russian: засте́нчивый (ru) (zasténčivyj), ро́бкий (ru) (róbkij) Spanish: tímido (es) Turkish: mahcup (tr) (dated), utangaç (tr), çekingen (tr), muhteriz (tr) (archaic)

archaic: quiet, reserved, modest

Bulgarian: тих (bg) (tih), мълчалив (bg) (mǎlčaliv) Czech: zdrženlivý Dutch: bedeesd (nl), bescheiden (nl), timide (nl), schuchter (nl), verlegen (nl) Finnish: hiljainen (fi), vaitonainen (fi), ujo (fi) French: coi (fr) (archaic) Georgian: მორიდებული (moridebuli) German: verschämt (de), schüchtern (de), zurückhaltend (de) Hungarian: tartózkodó (hu) Italian: schivo (it) Russian: скро́мный (ru) (skrómnyj) Spanish: recatado (es) Turkish: muhteriz (tr) (archaic), mahcup (tr) (dated) Walloon: coe (wa) m

reluctant to give details about something sensitive

Bulgarian: сдържан (bg) (sdǎržan), дискретен (bg) (diskreten) Czech: zdrženlivý, diskrétní (cs), mlčenlivý (cs) Dutch: bescheiden (nl), discreet (nl), kuis (nl), terughoudend (nl) Finnish: häveliäs (fi) Georgian: თავშეკავებული (tavšeḳavebuli) German: diskret (de), prüde (de) Italian: modesto (it) m Portuguese: reservado (pt) m Russian: сде́ржанный (ru) (sdéržannyj) Spanish: discreto (es)

pretending shyness or modesty

Chinese: Mandarin: 矜持 (zh) (jīnchí), (please verify) 绿茶 (zh) (lǜchá, literally “green cha”), (please verify) 撒娇 (zh) (sājiāo) Dutch: koket (nl) Finnish: häveliäs (fi) Galician: coqueto German: (rare) kokett (de) Korean: 내숭 (naesung) (noun) Spanish: tímido pero coqueto, tímidamente coqueto, fingidamente tímido, hacerse el tímido (verb), mojigato (es) (uncommon), melindroso (es), remilgado (es), timorato (es), pacato, gazmoño (es), gazmoñero, tímidamente seductor Turkish: nazlı (tr), işveli (tr), cilveli (tr), nazende

soft, gentle, hesitating

Finnish: hellä (fi) German: zurückhaltend (de) Russian: нежный (ru) (nežnyj), мягкий (ru) (mjaxkij)

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

Icelandic: (please verify) feiminn (is), (please verify) óframfærinn, (please verify) hæglátur, (please verify) ekki jafn feiminn og hann lætur

Verb

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coy (third-person singular simple present coys, present participle coying, simple past and past participle coyed)

1. (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.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To calm or soothe.
3. (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

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Compare decoy.

Noun

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coy (plural coys)

1. A trap from which waterfowl may be hunted.

Etymology 3

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Abbreviation of company.

Noun

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coy (plural coys)

1. (military) A company

References

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• Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “coy”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “coy”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

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• CYO

Huave

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Etymology 1

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Noun

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coy

1. rheumatism

References

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• 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

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Noun

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coy

1. rabbit

References

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• 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

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Noun

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coy

1. short tail, stub

References

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• 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

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Alternative forms

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• cuy

Etymology

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Possibly from Hakka 吹 (chhôi) or Hokkien 吹 (chhe, chhoe).

Pronunciation

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• (Standard Indonesian) IPA(key): /ˈt͡ʃoj/ [ˈt͡ʃoi̯]
• Syllabification: coy

Noun

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coy (plural coy-coy)

1. (slang) bro; dude friendly term of address for a male

Middle French

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Alternative forms

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• coi
• quoy

Etymology

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From Old French coi, from Vulgar Latin quetus, from Latin quietus.

Adjective

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coy m (feminine singular coye, masculine plural coys, feminine plural coyes)

1. (of a person) calm; composed

Descendants

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• French: coi

Spanish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Dutch kooi (“bunk”). Doublet of gavia and cávea.

Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /ˈkoi/ [ˈkoi̯]
• Rhymes: -oi
• Syllabification: coy

Noun

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coy m (plural coyes or cois)

1. (nautical) a type of hammock made of sailcloth used as a makeshift bunk

Further reading

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• “coy”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Wastek

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Noun

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coy

1. rabbit