coy: [14] Essentially, coy is the same word as quiet, and ‘quiet’ is what it meant when it first came into English (it soon developed to ‘shyly reserved’, and the sense ‘quiet’ died out in the 17th century). Its ultimate source was Latin quiētus, but whereas in the case of quiet this passed directly through Old French, coy came via the more circuitous route of Vulgar Latin *quētus, which produced early Old French quei, and later coi, the source of the English word. => quiet
coy (adj.)
early 14c., "quiet, modest, demure," from Old French coi, earlier quei "quiet, still, placid, gentle," ultimately from Latin quietus "resting, at rest" (see quiet (n.)). Meaning "shy" emerged late 14c. Meaning "unwilling to commit" is 1961. Related: Coyly; coyness.
实用例句
1. Mr Alexander is not the slightest bit coy about his ambitions.
亚历山大先生对自己的抱负毫不隐讳。
来自柯林斯例句
2. The hotel are understandably coy about the incident.
酒店对那次事件不愿多说，这可以理解。
来自柯林斯例句
3. She gave me a coy smile.
她羞答答地对我笑了笑。
来自《权威词典》
4. She is coy of singing.
她唱歌怕羞.
来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
5. I was sickened by the way Carol charmed all the men by turning coy.
