Shy
Shy (shī) , adjective
[Old English schey, skey, sceouh, Anglo-Saxon sceóh; akin to Danish sky, Swedish skygg, Dutch schuw, Middle High German schiech, German scheu, Old High German sciuhen to be or make timid. Compare Eschew.]
1.
Easily frightened; timid; as, a shy bird.
The horses of the army... were no longer shy, but would come up to my very feet without starting.
2.
Reserved; coy; disinclined to familiar approach.
What makes you so shy, my good friend? There's nobody loves you better than I.
The embarrassed look of shy distress
And maidenly shamefacedness.
3.
Cautious; wary; suspicious.
I am very shy of using corrosive liquors in the preparation of medicines.
Princes are, by wisdom of state, somewhat shy of thier successors.
4.
Inadequately supplied; short; lacking; as, the team is shy two players. [Slang]
5.
(Poker) owing money to the pot; -- in cases where an opponent's bet has exceeded a player's available stake or chips, but the player chooses to continue playing the hand before adding the required bet to the pot. [Slang]
Collocations (1)
To fight shy , See under Fight, v. i.
Shy , intransitive verb
[From Shy, a.]
To start suddenly aside through fright or suspicion; -- said especially of horses.
Shy , transitive verb
To throw sidewise with a jerk; to fling; as, to shy a stone; to shy a slipper. — T. Hughes
Shy , noun
1.
A sudden start aside, as by a horse.
2.
A side throw; a throw; a fling. — Thackeray
If Lord Brougham gets a stone in his hand, he must, it seems, have a shy at somebody.