coy

coy
\ \ [14] Essentially, coy is the same word as quiet, and ‘quiet’ is what it meant when it first came into English (it soon developed to ‘shyly reserved’, and the sense ‘quiet’ died out in the 17th century). Its ultimate source was Latin quiētus, but whereas in the case of quiet this passed directly through Old French, coy came via the more circuitous route of Vulgar Latin *quētus, which produced early Old French quei, and later coi, the source of the English word.
\ \ Cf.QUIET

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Coy — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Coy Bandera …   Wikipedia Español

  • Coy — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Bernard Coy (1901–1946), US amerikanischer Bankräuber Eugene Coy (? 1960er), US amerikanischer Jazzmusiker George Willard Coy (1836–1915), US amerikanischer Erfinder Wolfgang Coy (* 1947), deutscher… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • coy — coy·dog; coy·ly; coy·ness; coy·nye; coy·pu; mc·coy; to·bac·coy; coy; coy·ote; de·coy; coy·pou; …   English syllables

  • Coy — COY, sigle composé des trois lettres C, O et Y, peut faire référence à : Coolawanyah en Australie Occidentale, selon la liste des codes AITA des aéroports, Coy peut faire référence à : Personnes: Bernard Paul Coy (1901–1946), un… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • COY — COY, sigle composé des trois lettres C, O et Y, peut faire référence à : Coolawanyah en Australie Occidentale, selon la liste des codes AITA des aéroports, Coy peut faire référence à : Personnes: Bernard Paul Coy (1901–1946), un… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Coy — (koi), a. [OE. coi quiet, still, OF. coi, coit, fr.L. quietus quiet, p. p. of quiescere to rest, quie rest; prob. akin to E. while. See {While}, and cf. {Quiet}, {Quit}, {Quite}.] 1. Quiet; still. [Obs.] Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 2. Shrinking from… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • coy — [ kɔı ] adjective 1. ) not willing to give information about something, especially in a way that is slightly annoying: coy about: Tim is being very coy about his new job. 2. ) someone who is coy pretends to be shy in order to make themselves seem …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Coy — Coy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Coyed} (koid); p. pr. & vb. n. {Coying}.] 1. To allure; to entice; to decoy. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] A wiser generation, who have the art to coy the fonder sort into their nets. Bp. Rainbow. [1913 Webster] 2. To caress… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • coy — [kɔı] adj [Date: 1300 1400; : Old French; Origin: coi calm , from Latin quietus quiet ] 1.) shy or pretending to be shy in order to attract people s interest ▪ She gave him a coy smile. 2.) unwilling to give information about something ≠ ↑open… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • coy´ly — coy «koy», adjective, verb. –adj. 1. shy or modest; bashful. 2. acting more shy than one really is; coquettishly reserved: »I am not trying to hide anything…and I m certainly not being coy (Newsweek). –v.t. 1. to render quiet; calm; …   Useful english dictionary

  • Coy — Coy, v. i. 1. To behave with reserve or coyness; to shrink from approach or familiarity. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Thus to coy it, With one who knows you too! Rowe. [1913 Webster] 2. To make difficulty; to be unwilling. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] If he… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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