coy
To caress, pet; to coax, enticeTo caress, pet; to coax, entice.
Meaning
3 senses(obsolete, transitive)To caress, pet; to coax, entice.
(obsolete, transitive)To calm or soothe.
(obsolete, transitive)To allure; to decoy.
Examples
6 sentencesDon't be coy.
ruНе будь застенчивым. — Inego
The president remained coy about his plans.
Come on, don't act so coy, I know you're into it.
He's coy about his income.
She is coy with everyone.
Origin
From Middle English coy, from Old French coi, earlier quei (“quiet, still”), from Latin quFrom 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.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
coys, coying, coyed, coyedLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.