Etymograph

English

accoy

Accoy comes from Middle French coy ‘quiet, calm’, from Latin quiēscō ‘repose, lie still’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- ‘to rest’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷyeh₁-1‘to rest’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷyéh₁tis1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷjētis1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiēs1‘rest, repose’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiēscō2‘repose, lie still’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquietus3‘at rest/nap, quiet, keeping quiet, quietude, quietness’perfect passive participle of quiēscō
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEquetus3
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400coi3
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600coy4‘quiet, calm’
  10. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600acoyer4
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1596accoy4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin quiesco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin quietus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Middle French coy
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English accoy
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene: “Of faire Pæana I received was, And oft imbrast,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷyeh₁-Wiktionary, Latin quiesco‘to rest’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷyéh₁tisWiktionary, Latin quiescoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷjētisWiktionary, Latin quiescoreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiēsWiktionary, Latin quiesco‘rest, repose’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiēscōWiktionary, Latin quietus‘repose, lie still’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquietusWiktionary, Middle French coy‘at rest/nap, quiet, keeping quiet, quietude, quietness’perfect passive participle of quiēscō
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEquetusWiktionary, Middle French coy
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400coiWiktionary, Middle French coy
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600coyWiktionary, English accoy‘quiet, calm’
  10. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600acoyerWiktionary, English accoy
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1596accoyWiktionary, English accoy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene: “Of faire Pæana I received was, And oft imbrast,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- ‘to rest’

while, whilst, 17 more

through Latin quiēs ‘rest, repose’

tranquil, requiem, 13 more

through Latin quiēscō ‘repose, lie still’

quiescent, 11 more

through Latin quietus ‘at rest/nap, quiet, keeping quiet, quietude,…’

quite, quiet, quit, 4 more

through Old French coi

coy

Today it means

verb To soothe, to calm; to assuage, to subdue.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “accoy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin quiesco, Latin quietus, Middle French coy. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- / accoy

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