shiny adj.

1520s, "brightness, radiance," from shine (v.). Indicating "sunshine," and paired with rain (n.), from 1620s. Meaning "polish given to a pair of boots" is from 1871.

For the American English slang meaning "a prank, a trick," see monkey-shines. Often also "a fancy, a liking," as in phrases such as take a shine to, "fancy," attested by 1830 in representations of Yankee dialect; shine up to "attempt to please as a suitor by making a brilliant impression" (1882).

The derogatory meaning "black person" is attested by 1908, perhaps from glossiness of skin or, on another guess, from frequent employment as shoeshines.

adjective suffix, "full of or characterized by," from Old English -ig, from Proto-Germanic *-iga- (source also of Dutch, Danish, German -ig, Gothic -egs), from PIE -(i)ko-, adjectival suffix, cognate with elements in Greek -ikos, Latin -icus (see -ic). Originally added to nouns in Old English; used from 13c. with verbs, and by 15c. even with other adjectives (for example crispy). Adjectives such as hugy, vasty are artificial words that exist for the sake of poetical metrics.