Home › Glossary › Letter C

coy

Adjective
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Shy, reserved, or deliberately evasive in manner, especially in response to affection or attention; sometimes playfully modest or teasing.

Detailed Definition
In older literary English, coy can mean more than just playful; it often suggests a deliberately restrained or withholding manner. Here it describes the virgins as hesitant or reluctant to act on love and marriage.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Then be not coy, but use your time” (Robert Herrick) urges a beloved not to be shy or withholding; “Coy mistress” in Marvell’s poem suggests playful reserve within courtship; “Coy as a seed beneath late snow” extends the adjective through natural imagery; In contemporary verse, coy can also describe evasive language: “the coy answer blinked on my screen”
Additional Notes
In the line quoted, coy is a somewhat old-fashioned literary adjective that many modern readers may not immediately gloss.; Found in the poem, To the Virgins, to make much of Time by Robert Herrick
Also Known As
playful coyly demure flirtatious
Skip to main content