shy
/ʃaɪ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.16 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
adj
adj
Example Sentences
- "The horses of the army, and those of the royal stables, having been daily led before me, were no longer shy, but would come up to my very feet without starting."
- "He is very shy with strangers."
- "VVhat makes you ſo ſhy of late, my good Friend? There's no Body loves you better than I, nor has taken more Pains in your Affairs: […]"
- "Graham Norton: But the people coming up to you now, like the Americans, well, you know, the Americans, they're not shy, the Americans. / Maggie Smith: No. Well, no but I don't go anywhere where really they can get at me. It's usually in museums and art galleries and things, so that limits things. I keep away from there, and Harrod's I don't go near."
- "We grant, although he had much wit, / H' was very shy of using it; / As being loth to wear it out, / And therefore bore it not about,"
- "Princes are, by wisdom of state, somewhat shy of their successors."
Etymology
From Middle English shy (“shy”), from Old English sċēoh (“shy”), from Proto-West Germanic *skeuh (“shy, fearful”), from Proto-Germanic *skeuhaz (“shy, fearful”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian skjou (“shy”), Dutch schuw (“shy”), German scheu (“shy”), Danish sky (“shy”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: shy, sċēoh, *skeuh, *skeuhaz
Usage
- Informal
- British usage
- American usage
- Intransitive verb
- Transitive verb
- Archaic
Inflected Forms
shier (comparative)
shyer (comparative)
more shy (comparative)
shiest (superlative)
shyest (superlative)
most shy (superlative)
shies (present, singular)
shying (participle, present)
shied (participle, past)
shied (past)
shies (plural)
Shys (plural)