skittish

Founding-era definition · Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

SKIT'TISH, adjective 1. Shy; easily frightened; shunning familiarity; timorous; as a restif skittish jade. L'Estrange. 2. Wanton; volatile; hasty. 3. Changeable; fickle; as skittish fortune.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI

More founding-era words: liberty · virtue · republic · justice · providence · commerce · militia · arms · prudence · establishment · religion · usurpation · tyranny · citizen · unalienable · sovereign