# coy
## English
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kɔɪ/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɔɪ
* Homophone: koi

### Etymology 1

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

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”, 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.
* 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

* accoy
* coily
* coyish
* coyly
* coyness
* overcoy
* uncoy

##### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

#### 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, [Act IV, scene i]:Come sit thee down upon this flowery bed, / While I thy amiable cheeks do coy.
* (transitive, obsolete) To calm or soothe.
* (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)
* A trap from which waterfowl may be hunted.

### Etymology 3

Abbreviation of company.

#### Noun

coy (plural coys)
* (military) A company

### References

* Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “coy”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

### Anagrams

* CYO

## Huave
### Etymology 1
#### 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

### Etymology 2
#### 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

### Etymology 3
#### 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

## Indonesian
### Alternative forms

* cuy

### Pronunciation

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

### Noun

coy (plural coy-coy)
* (slang) bro; dude friendly term of address for a male

## 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

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /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 [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Wastek
### Noun

coy
* rabbit