leery

Etymology

1718, “untrustful, suspicious”, either from leer + -y, lear (“learning, knowledge”) + -y. More at leer, lear.

adj

1. Cautious, suspicious, wary, hesitant, or nervous about something; having reservations or concerns.
   Since he was bitten by a dog when he was young, he has always been leery of animals.
2. (of a look or smile) Lecherous.
   And there was a particularly brutal villain with leery eyes, ugly mouth, with one tooth gone, and an iron jaw like a hull-dog's. 1902, Francis Hopkinson Smith, chapter X, in The Fortunes of Oliver Horn