What is "shier"

Shy \Shy\ (sh[imac]), a. [Compar. Shier (sh[imac]"[~e]r) or Shyer; superl. Shiest or Shyest.] [OE. schey, skey, sceouh, AS. sce['o]h; akin to Dan. sky, Sw. skygg, D. schuw, MHG. schiech, G. scheu, OHG. sciuhen to be or make timid. Cf. Eschew.]

1. Easily frightened; timid; as, a shy bird.

   The horses of the army . . . were no longer shy, but would come up to my very feet without starting.
   --Swift.

2. Reserved; coy; disinclined to familiar approach.

   What makes you so shy, my good friend? There's nobody loves you better than I.
   --Arbuthnot.

   The embarrassed look of shy distress And maidenly shamefacedness.
   --Wordsworth.

3. Cautious; wary; suspicious.

   I am very shy of using corrosive liquors in the preparation of medicines.
   --Boyle.

   Princes are, by wisdom of state, somewhat shy of thier successors.
   --Sir H. Wotton.

4. Inadequately supplied; short; lacking; as, the team is shy two players.[Slang]

5. (Poker), owing money to the pot; -- in cases where an opponent's bet has exceeded a player's available stake or chips, but the player chooses to continue playing the hand before adding the required bet to the pot. [Slang]

   To fight shy. See under Fight, v. i.

a. (en-comparativeshy)

1. v. start suddenly, as from fight

2. throw quickly

3. [also: shied, shyest, shyer, shiest, shier]

1. adj. lacking self-confidence; "stood in the doorway diffident and abashed"; "problems that call for bold not timid responses"; "a very unsure young man" [syn: diffident, timid, unsure]

2. easily startled or frightened

3. short; "eleven is one shy of a dozen" [syn: shy(p)]

4. wary and distrustful; disposed to avoid persons or things; "shy of strangers"

5. [also: shied, shyest, shyer, shiest, shier]

1. n. a quick throw; "he gave the ball a shy to the first baseman"

2. [also: shied, shyest, shyer, shiest, shier]

See shy