coy

adj

1. (dated)Bashful, shy, retiring.
2. (archaic)Quiet, reserved, modest.
3. Reluctant to give details about something sensitive; notably prudish.
4. Pretending shyness or modesty, especially in an insincere or flirtatious way.

   “The ill-bred miss, the bird-brained Jill, / May simper and be coy at will; / A lady, sir, as you will find, / Keeps counsel, or she speaks her mind, / Means what she says and scorns to fence / And palter with feigned innocence.”

5. Soft, gentle, hesitating.

   “Enforced hate, / Instead of love's coy touch, shall rudely tear thee.”

verb

1. (obsolete, transitive)To caress, pet; to coax, entice.

   “Come sit thee down upon this flowery bed, / While I thy amiable cheeks do coy.”

2. (obsolete, transitive)To calm or soothe.
3. (obsolete, transitive)To allure; to decoy.

   “For now there are ſprung up a wiſer generation in this kind, who have the Art to coy the fonder ſort into their nets”

noun

1. A trap from which waterfowl may be hunted.
2. A company

name

1. A surname.
2. An unincorporated community in McDonald County, Missouri.