Coy vs Diffident - What's the difference?
coy | diffident | Related terms |
(dated) Bashful, shy, retiring.
(archaic) Quiet, reserved, modest.
Reluctant to give details about something sensitive; notably prudish.
Pretending shyness or modesty, especially in an insincere or flirtatious way.
Soft, gentle, hesitating.
* Shakespeare
(obsolete) To caress, pet; to coax, entice.
* Shakespeare
(obsolete) To calm or soothe.
To allure; to decoy.
* Bishop Rainbow
(archaic): Lacking confidence in others; distrustful.
Lacking confidence in one's self; distrustful of one's own powers; not self-reliant; timid; modest; bashful; characterized by modest reserve.
*
* {{quote-book
, year=1960
, author=
, title=(Jeeves in the Offing)
, section=chapter VIII
, passage=At an early point in these exchanges I had started to sidle to the door, and I now sidled through it, rather like a diffident crab on some sandy beach trying to avoid the attentions of a child with a spade.}}
Coy is a related term of diffident.
In archaic|lang=en terms the difference between coy and diffident
is that coy is (archaic) quiet, reserved, modest while diffident is (archaic): lacking confidence in others; distrustful.As adjectives the difference between coy and diffident
is that coy is (dated) bashful, shy, retiring while diffident is (archaic): lacking confidence in others; distrustful.As a verb coy
is (obsolete) to caress, pet; to coax, entice.As a noun coy
is a trap from which waterfowl may be hunted.coy
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) coi, earlier .Adjective
(er)- Enforced hate, / Instead of love's coy touch, shall rudely tear thee.
Derived terms
* coyly * coynessVerb
(en verb)- Come sit thee down upon this flowery bed, / While I thy amiable cheeks do coy .
- A wiser generation, who have the art to coy the fonder sort into their nets.
Etymology 2
Compare decoy.References
* [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=coy&searchmode=none]diffident
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- Having therefore—but hold, as we are diffident of our own abilities, let us here invite a superior power to our assistance.