Skittish means easily startled and hard to settle. A skittish horse, skittish about it, the market turned skittish.
Of an animal it means jumpy and unpredictable, and it is the standard word for a horse that will not stand. Of a person it means nervous and inclined to shy away. In finance, a skittish market is one reacting sharply to small news, which is a well-used borrowing of the horse sense. Note skittishness.
1adjectiveskittishEasily startled and hard to settle.
“The skittish horse jumped sideways every time a car went past.”
skittish is a quality of nervousness.
Skittish is probably from skite, to move quickly, plus -ish. Skitter and skittle come from the same darting movement.
Probably from skite + ish; compare skitter.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA