Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- Apt to start; skittish.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective colloq. Easily startled; apt to start; startish; skittish; -- said especially of a horse.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective colloquial Easily
startled ;skittish .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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He stirred up in a kind of a startlish way; but when he see it was only me he took a good gap and stretch, and then he says:
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Tired with their unexpected task of having to tug at another and a stuck-fast diligence, -- made startlish with having to stand in the rain and chill night air, in the open road, while the debates were going on as to the best method of attaching them to the sunken vehicle, -- when once put back into their own traces, they took to rearing and kicking instead of proceeding.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 107, September, 1866 Various
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He stirred up in a kind of a startlish way; but when he see it was only me he took a good gap and stretch, and then he says:
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He stirred up in a kind of a startlish way; but when he see it was only me he took a good gap and stretch, and then he says:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain 1872
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He stirred up in a kind of a startlish way; but when he see it was only me he took a good gap and stretch, and then he says:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapters 11 to 15 Mark Twain 1872
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