skittish
[skit-ish]
- apt to start or shy: a skittish horse.
- restlessly or excessively lively: a skittish mood.
- fickle; uncertain.
- shy; coy.
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Origin of skittish
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
jumpygiddyfearfuledgyficklerestiveexcitedcapriciouschangeablecombustibledizzyexcitablefidgetyflightyfrivolousharebrainedhigh-strungirresponsiblelightheadedlivelyExamples from the Web for skittish
Contemporary Examples
In the Senate, Republicans are skittish about border security (among other issues, but mainly border security).
Banks were just too skittish to loan out their new reserves.
The White House has been so skittish over the Republican attacks on the bill that Obama barely mentions it on the campaign trail.
VIRGO As skittish as you can be, you tap into a new confidence and ease now.
Without the support of Republicans who ran on no-new-taxes pledges, Boehner would have to woo Democrats skittish of Medicare cuts.
Historical Examples
"There's only about a dozen guests there now, so you needn't get skittish," says he.
Shorty McCabeSewell Ford
Usually he was not skittish nor afraid of trains or engines.
Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue in the Sunny SouthLaura Lee Hope
The horse is "skittish" and playful in the morning, not so much so at night.
The Story of the MindJames Mark Baldwin
"Shady says the roan's too skittish for any of the young ladies—" he suggested.
Blue Bonnet's Ranch PartyC. E. Jacobs
Of course it's silly for a girl who's nearly nineteen to be as skittish as I am.
Otherwise PhyllisMeredith Nicholson
skittish
- playful, lively, or frivolous
- difficult to handle or predict
- rare coy
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Word Origin
C15: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse skjōta to shoot; see -ish
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for skittish
adj.
early 15c., "very lively, frivolous," perhaps from Scandinavian base *skyt- (stem of Old Norse skjota "to shoot, launch, move quickly"), from PIE root *skeud- "to shoot, to chase, to throw, to project" (see shoot (v.)). Sense of "shy, nervous, apt to run" first recorded c.1500, of horses. Related: Skittishly; skittishness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper