launch vs shy

launch

verb
  • To throw (a projectile such as a lance, dart or ball); to hurl; to propel with force. 

  • To cause (a vessel) to move or slide from the land or a larger vessel into the water; to set afloat. 

  • To cause (a rocket, balloon, etc., or the payload thereof) to begin its flight upward from the ground. 

  • Of a ship, rocket, balloon, etc.: to depart on a voyage; to take off. 

  • To send out; to start (someone) on a mission or project; to give a start to (something); to put in operation 

  • To start to operate. 

  • To move with force and swiftness like a sliding from the stocks into the water; to plunge; to begin. 

  • To release; to put onto the market for sale 

  • To start (a program or feature); to execute or bring into operation. 

noun
  • The act or fact of launching (a ship/vessel, a project, a new book, etc.). 

  • A boat used to convey guests to and from a yacht. 

  • An open boat of any size powered by steam, petrol, electricity, etc. 

  • The boat of the largest size and/or of most importance belonging to a ship of war, and often called the "captain's boat" or "captain's launch". 

  • The movement of a vessel from land into the water; especially, the sliding on ways from the stocks on which it is built. (Compare: to splash a ship.) 

  • An event held to celebrate the launch of a ship/vessel, project, a new book, etc.; a launch party. 

shy

verb
  • To throw sideways with a jerk; to fling. 

  • To avoid due to caution, embarrassment or timidness. 

  • (transitive) or (intransitive) To throw a ball with two hands above the head, especially when it has crossed the side lines in a football (soccer) match. To hit the ball back into play from the sidelines in a shinty match. 

  • To jump back in fear. 

noun
  • In the Eton College wall game, a point scored by lifting the ball against the wall in the calx. 

  • In soccer, a throw-in from the sidelines, using two hands above the head. In shinty, the act of tossing the ball above the head and hitting it with the shaft of the caman to bring it back into play after it has been hit out of the field. 

  • An act of throwing. 

  • A place for throwing. 

  • A sudden start aside, as by a horse. 

adj
  • Easily frightened; timid. 

  • Embarrassed. 

  • Cautious; wary; suspicious. 

  • Reserved; disinclined to familiar approach. 

  • Short, insufficient or less than. 

How often have the words launch and shy occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )