Shy, a. [Compar. Shier or Shyer; superl. Shiest or Shyest.]
Etymology: [OE. schey, skey, sceouh, AS. sceóh; 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. To fight shy. See under Fight, v. i.
3 other Webster entries under this spelling
Shy, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Shied; p. pr. & vb. n. Shying.]
To start suddenly aside through fright or suspicion; -- said especially of horses.
Shy, v. t.
To throw sidewise with a jerk; to fling; as, to shy a stone; to shy a slipper. T. Hughes.
Shy, n.
1. A sudden start aside, as by a horse.
2. A side throw; a throw; a fling. Thackeray. If Lord Brougham gets a stone in his hand, he must, it seems, have a shy at somebody. Punch.
Shades of meaning
Fernald lists shy only as an antonym, under meddlesome.
He lists it without comment; the entries above explain its neighbors.