shy

adj

Etymology: From Middle English shy (“shy”), from Old English sċēoh (“shy”), from Proto-West Germanic *skeuh (“shy, fearful”), from Proto-Germanic *skeuhaz (“shy, fearful”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian skjou (“shy”), Dutch schuw (“shy”), German scheu (“shy”), Danish sky (“shy”). Etymology tree Middle English shy English shy

1. Easily frightened; timid.

   “The horses of the army, and those of the royal stables, having been daily led before me, were no longer shy, but would come up to my very feet without starting.”

2. Reserved; disinclined to familiar approach.

   “He is very shy with strangers.”

   “VVhat makes you ſo ſhy of late, my good Friend? There's no Body loves you better than I, nor has taken more Pains in your Affairs: […]”

3. Cautious; wary; suspicious.

   “We grant, although he had much wit, / H' was very shy of using it; / As being loth to wear it out, / And therefore bore it not about,”

   “Princes are, by wisdom of state, somewhat shy of their successors.”

4. Short, insufficient or less than.

   “By our count your shipment came up two shy of the bill of lading amount.”

   “It is just shy of a mile from here to their house.”

5. Less likely to reveal whom they will vote for than average, chiefly in the context of the collective effect this has on polling accuracy.

   “Pollsters need to remember the shy Tory factor.”

name

1. A surname.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English shy (“shy”), from Old English sċēoh (“shy”), from Proto-West Germanic *skeuh (“shy, fearful”), from Proto-Germanic *skeuhaz (“shy, fearful”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian skjou (“shy”), Dutch schuw (“shy”), German scheu (“shy”), Danish sky (“shy”). Etymology tree Middle English shy English shy

1. An act of throwing.

   “Foker discharged a prodigious bouquet at her, and even Smirke made a feeble shy with a rose, and blushed dreadfully when it fell into the pit”

   “If Lord Brougham gets a stone in his hand, he must, it seems, have a shy at somebody.”

2. A place for throwing.

   “coconut shy”

3. A sudden start aside, as by a horse.
4. In the Eton College wall game, a point scored by lifting the ball against the wall in the calx.
5. A throw-in from the sidelines, using two hands above the head.
6. In shinty, the act of tossing the ball above the head and hitting it with the shaft of the caman to bring it back into play after it has been hit out of the field.
7. A gibe; a sneer.

verb

Etymology: From Middle English shy (“shy”), from Old English sċēoh (“shy”), from Proto-West Germanic *skeuh (“shy, fearful”), from Proto-Germanic *skeuhaz (“shy, fearful”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian skjou (“shy”), Dutch schuw (“shy”), German scheu (“shy”), Danish sky (“shy”). Etymology tree Middle English shy English shy

1. To avoid due to caution, embarrassment or timidness.

   “Courts might tend to shy from limiting Congress under such a vague standard.”

2. To jump back in fear.

   “The horse shied at the unexpected approach of a motor vehicle.”

3. To throw sideways with a jerk; to fling.

   “to shy a stone”

   “shy a slipper”

4. To throw a ball with two hands above the head, especially when it has crossed the side lines in a football (soccer) match.
5. To hit the ball back into play from the sidelines in a shinty match.