different between coy vs cony

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??/
• Rhymes: -??
• Homophone: koi

Etymology 1

From Middle English coy, from Old French coi, earlier quei (“quiet, still”), from Latin quietus (“resting, at rest”). Doublet of quiet.

Adjective

coy (comparative coyer, superlative coyest)

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.
   • 1981, A. D. Hope, "His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell," A Book of Answers:

     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.
   • 1594, William Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece

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

Derived terms

• coyly
• coyness

Related terms

Translations

Verb

coy (third-person singular simple present coys, present participle coying, simple past and past participle coyed)

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

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

Etymology 2

Compare decoy.

Noun

coy (plural coys)

1. A trap from which waterfowl may be hunted.

Etymology 3

Abbreviation of company.

Noun

coy (plural coys)

1. (military) A company

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “coy”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Anagrams

• CYO

Huave

Etymology 1

Noun

coy

1. rheumatism

References

• Stairs Kreger, Glenn Albert; Scharfe de Stairs, Emily Florence; Olvaries Oviedo, Proceso; Ponce Villanueva, Tereso; Comonfort Llave, Lorenzo (1981) Diccionario huave de San Mateo del Mar (Serie de vocabularios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 24)?^[1] (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, pages 88, 205, 268

Etymology 2

Noun

coy

1. rabbit

References

• Stairs Kreger, Glenn Albert; Scharfe de Stairs, Emily Florence; Olvaries Oviedo, Proceso; Ponce Villanueva, Tereso; Comonfort Llave, Lorenzo (1981) Diccionario huave de San Mateo del Mar (Serie de vocabularios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 24)?^[2] (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, pages 88, 212, 416

Etymology 3

Noun

coy

1. short tail, stub

References

• Stairs Kreger, Glenn Albert; Scharfe de Stairs, Emily Florence; Olvaries Oviedo, Proceso; Ponce Villanueva, Tereso; Comonfort Llave, Lorenzo (1981) Diccionario huave de San Mateo del Mar (Serie de vocabularios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 24)?^[3] (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, pages 88, 211, 265

Middle French

Alternative forms

• coi
• quoy

Etymology

From Old French coi, from Vulgar Latin quetus, from Latin quietus.

Adjective

coy m (feminine singular coye, masculine plural coys, feminine plural coyes)

1. (of a person) calm; composed

Descendants

• French: coi

Spanish

Etymology

From Dutch kooi (“bunk”). Doublet of gavia and cávea.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?koi/, [?koi?]

Noun

coy m (plural coyes or cois)

1. (nautical) a type of hammock made of sailcloth used as a makeshift bunk

Wastek

Noun

coy

1. rabbit

English

Alternative forms

• (rabbit): coney, cunny, connie

Etymology

From Middle English coni, from conies, borrowed from Anglo-Norman conis, the plural of conil, from Vulgar Latin *cuniclus (“rabbit”), from Latin cuniculus (“rabbit”), from Ancient Greek ???????? (kúniklos). The original pronunciation was /?k?ni/ (for the spelling compare honey and money), but the similarity to cunt (and particularly homophony with cunny) led through taboo avoidance both to the word's displacement in the main by rabbit and bunny and to the spelling pronunciation /?k??ni/ becoming standard. Compare Galician coello, Portuguese coelho, Italian coniglio, and Spanish conejo.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?k??ni/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?ko?ni/

  Rhymes: -??ni

Noun

cony (plural conies)

1. A rabbit, especially the European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (formerly known as Lepus cuniculus).
2. (Britain, dialect) Rabbit fur.
3. Locally for other rabbit-like or hyrax-like animals, such as the Cape hyrax (das, dassie) or the pika (Ochotona princeps, formerly Lagomys princeps).
   1. Used in the Old Testament as a translation of Hebrew ??????? (shafan), thought to be the rock hyrax (Procavia capensis, syn. Hyrax syriacus).
4. (obsolete) A simpleton; one who may be taken in by a cony-catcher.
   • 1599, Diet's Dry Dinner:

     It is a most simple animal; whence are derived our usual phrases of cony and cony catcher.

5. An edible West Indian fish, a grouper given in different sources as: Epinephelus apua, the hind of Bermuda; nigger-fish, Epinephelus punctatus; Cephalopholis fulva.
6. Several species of tropical west Atlantic groupers of family Epinephelidae, such as the mutton hamlet, graysby, Cuban coney, and rooster hind.
7. (Britain, dialect) The burbot.
8. (obsolete) A woman; a sweetheart.

Synonyms

• (rabbit): bunny, hare
• (tropical West Atlantic groupers): coney
• (burbot): coney-fish

Translations

References

• cony in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• C[harles] T[albut] Onions, editor (1973) , “cony”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 3rd edition, Oxford: The Clarendon Press, OCLC 639811675, page 420
• The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3.

Anagrams

• coyn, cyno-, cyon

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin cunnus, compare Portuguese cona and Spanish coño.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /?ko?/

Noun

cony m (plural conys)

1. (vulgar) vagina; vulva

Interjection

cony!

1. (vulgar) Expression of frustration or surprise.

Alternative forms

• coi (euphemistic)

Further reading

• “cony” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “cony” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “cony” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “cony” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.