*coy*

n. [ F. bel beautiful + accueil reception. ] A kind or favorable reception or salutation. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Of American Indian origin. ] A social gathering; usually, one for dancing. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ OE. coi quiet, still, OF. coi, coit, fr.L. quietus quiet, p. p. of quiescere to rest, quie rest; prob. akin to E. while. See While, and cf. Quiet, Quit, Quite. ] 1. Quiet; still. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Shrinking from approach or familiarity; reserved; bashful; shy; modest; -- usually applied to women, sometimes with an implication of coquetry. [ 1913 Webster ]

Coy, and difficult to win. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

Coy and furtive graces. W. Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nor the coy maid, half willings to be pressed,
Shall kiss the cup, to pass it to the rest. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Soft; gentle; hesitating. [ 1913 Webster ]

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

Syn. -- Shy; shriking; reserved; modest; bashful; backward; distant. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Coyed p. pr. & vb. n. Coying. ] 1. To allure; to entice; to decoy. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A wiser generation, who have the art to coy the fonder sort into their nets. Bp. Rainbow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To caress with the hand; to stroke. [ 1913 Webster ]

Come sit thee down upon this flowery bed,
While I thy amiable cheeks do coy. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To behave with reserve or coyness; to shrink from approach or familiarity. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Thus to coy it,
With one who knows you too! Rowe. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To make difficulty; to be unwilling. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

If he coyed
To hear Cominius speak, I 'll keep at home. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the offspring of a coyote and a dog.
Syn. -- coy-dog. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Somewhat coy or reserved. Warner. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a coy manner; with reserve. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being coy; feigned o&unr_; bashful unwillingness to become familiar; reserve. [ 1913 Webster ]

When the kind nymph would coyness feign,
And hides but to be found again. Dryden.

Syn. -- Reserve; shrinking; shyness; backwardness; modesty; bashfulness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a tropical American palm (Acrocomia vinifera) having edible nuts and yielding a useful fiber.
Syn. -- coyol palm, Acrocomia vinifera. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Spanish Amer., fr. Mexican coyotl. ] (Zool.) A carnivorous animal (Canis latrans), allied to the dog, found in the western part of North America; -- called also prairie wolf. Its voice is a snapping bark, followed by a prolonged, shrill howl. [ 1913 Webster ]

. South Dakota; -- a nickname. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n. [ Mex. Sp. dim. See Coyote. ] A low rhamnaceous shrub (Karwinskia humboldtiana) of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Its berries are said to be poisonous to the coyote. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n. [ Native name. ] (Zool.) A South American rodent (Myopotamus coypus), allied to the beaver. It produces a valuable fur called nutria. [ Written also coypou. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Coistril. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Decoyed p. pr. & vb. n. Decoying. ] [ Pref. de- + coy; orig., to quiet, soothe, caress, entice. See Coy. ] To lead into danger by artifice; to lure into a net or snare; to entrap; to insnare; to allure; to entice; as, to decoy troops into an ambush; to decoy ducks into a net. [ 1913 Webster ]

Did to a lonely cot his steps decoy. Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

E'en while fashion's brightest arts decoy,
The heart, distrusting, asks if this be joy. Goldsmith.

Syn. -- To entice; tempt; allure; lure. See Allure. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Anything intended to lead into a snare; a lure that deceives and misleads into danger, or into the power of an enemy; a bait. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A fowl, or the likeness of one, used by sportsmen to entice other fowl into a net or within shot. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A place into which wild fowl, esp. ducks, are enticed in order to take or shoot them. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A person employed by officers of justice, or parties exposed to injury, to induce a suspected person to commit an offense under circumstances that will lead to his detection. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A duck used to lure wild ducks into a decoy; hence, a person employed to lure others into danger. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who decoys another. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Decoy-men A man employed in decoying wild fowl. [ 1913 Webster ]