From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [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: 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
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Shy \Shy\ (sh[imac]), a. [Compar. Shier (sh[imac]"[~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.
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The horses of the army . . . were no longer shy, but
would come up to my very feet without starting.
--Swift.
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2. Reserved; coy; disinclined to familiar approach.
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What makes you so shy, my good friend? There's
nobody loves you better than I. --Arbuthnot.
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The embarrassed look of shy distress
And maidenly shamefacedness. --Wordsworth.
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3. Cautious; wary; suspicious.
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I am very shy of using corrosive liquors in the
preparation of medicines. --Boyle.
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Princes are, by wisdom of state, somewhat shy of
thier successors. --Sir H.
Wotton.
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4. Inadequately supplied; short; lacking; as, the team is shy
two players.[Slang]
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
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]
[PJC]
To fight shy. See under Fight, v. i.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
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.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Shy \Shy\, v. t.
To throw sidewise with a jerk; to fling; as, to shy a stone;
to shy a slipper. --T. Hughes.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Shy \Shy\, n.
1. A sudden start aside, as by a horse.
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2. A side throw; a throw; a fling. --Thackeray.
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If Lord Brougham gets a stone in his hand, he must,
it seems, have a shy at somebody. --Punch.
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