coy

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔɪ/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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• Rhymes: -ɔɪ
• Homophone: koi

Etymology 1

From Middle English coy, from Old French coi, earlier quei (“quiet, still”), from Latin quiētus (“resting, at rest”). Doublet of quiet.

Adjective

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

• coy dog
• coyly
• coyness

Related terms

Translations

Verb

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 Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     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 S^t. Pauls 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

Compare decoy.

Noun

coy (plural coys)

1. A trap from which waterfowl may be hunted.

Etymology 3

Abbreviation of company.

Noun

coy (plural coys)

1. (military) A company

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “coy”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• CYO

Huave

Etymology 1

Noun

coy

1. 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

Etymology 2

Noun

coy

1. 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

Etymology 3

Noun

coy

1. 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

Indonesian

Noun

coy (first-person possessive coyku, second-person possessive coymu, third-person possessive coynya)

1. (slang) bro, guy

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)

1. (of a person) calm; composed

Descendants

• French: coi

Spanish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkoi/
• Rhymes: -oi
• Syllabification: coy

Noun

coy m (plural coyes or cois)

1. (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

1. rabbit