Hypertext Webster Gateway: "shy"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Shy \Shy\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Shied}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Shying}.] [From {Shy}, a.]
To start suddenly aside through fright or suspicion; -- said
especially of horses.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Shy \Shy\, v. t.
To throw sidewise with a jerk; to fling; as, to shy a stone;
to shy a slipper. --T. Hughes.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Shy \Shy\, n.
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. --Punch.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Shy \Shy\ (sh[imac]), a. [Compar. {Shier} (-[~e]r) or {Shyer};
superl. {Shiest} or {Shyest}.] [OE. schey, skey, sceouh, AS.
sce['o]h; akin to Dan. sky, Sw. skygg, D. schuw, MHG.
schiech, G. scheu, OHG. sciuhen to be or make timid. Cf.
{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.
--Swift.
2. Reserved; coy; disinclined to familiar approach.
What makes you so shy, my good friend? There's
nobody loves you better than I. --Arbuthnot.
The embarrassed look of shy distress And maidenly
shamefacedness. --Wordsworth.
3. Cautious; wary; suspicious.
I am very shy of using corrosive liquors in the
preparation of medicines. --Boyle.
Princes are, by wisdom of state, somewhat shy of
thier successors. --Sir H.
Wotton.
{To fight shy}. See under {Fight}, v. i.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Shy \Shy\, a.
Inadequately supplied; short; lacking; as, the team is shy
two players. [Slang]
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
shy
adj 1: lacking self-confidence; "stood in the doorway diffident and
abashed"; "problems that call for bold not timid
responses"; "a very unsure young man" [syn: {diffident},
{timid}, {unsure}]
2: easily startled or frightened
3: (informal) short; "eleven is one shy of a dozen" [syn: {shy(p)}]
4: wary and distrustful; disposed to avoid persons or things;
"shy of strangers"
n : a quick throw; "he gave the ball a shy to the first baseman"
v 1: start suddenly, as from fight
2: throw quickly
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