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skittish

 - 3 dictionary results

skit·tish

   [skit-ish]
–adjective
1.
apt to start or shy: a skittish horse.
2.
restlessly or excessively lively: a skittish mood.
3.
fickle; uncertain.
4.
shy; coy.
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Origin:
1375–1425; late ME, perh. deriv. of the Scand source of skite1; see -ish1

—Related forms
skit·tish·ly, adverb
skit·tish·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Word Origin & History

skittish
c.1412, "very lively, frivolous," perhaps from Scand. base *skyt- (stem of O.N. skjuta "to shoot"), from PIE base *skeud- "to shoot, to chase, to throw, to project" (see shoot (v.)). Sense of "apt to run" first recorded about 1510, of horses.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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skit·tish   (skĭt'ĭsh)   
adj.  

  1. Moving quickly and lightly; lively.

  2. Restlessly active or nervous; restive.

  3. Undependably variable; mercurial or fickle.

  4. Shy; bashful.


[Middle English, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skjōta, to shoot; see shoot.]
skit'tish·ly adv., skit'tish·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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