English word origin

Etymology of cagey

Initially US colloquial, of unknown origin. A connection with the behavior of caged prisoners (wary and closed-lipped) and caged animals (wary) has been speculated. If so, by surface analysis, cage + -y.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗

adj

Wary, careful, shrewd. · Uncommunicative; unwilling or hesitant to give information.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "unk",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "unknown"
    },
    {
      "name": "surf",
      "args": {
        "1": "+suf",
        "2": "en",
        "3": "cage",
        "4": "-y",
        "id2": "adjectival",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "by surface analysis, cage + -y"
    }
  ],
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      "caged"
    ],
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    ],
    [
      "-y",
      "-y#English:_adjectival"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Wary, careful, shrewd.",
        "Uncommunicative; unwilling or hesitant to give information."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for cagey →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-Y2FnZXk