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espy

verb
/ɪˈspaɪ/UK/əˈspaɪ/US

Etymology

From Middle English aspien, espien (“to make covert observations of (a person or place) with hostile intent, to spy on; to seek to discover by spying; to act as a spy; to catch sight of, see; to look over, observe; to wait in ambush, to ambush; to plot against; to look for, seek to find; to inquire or look into, investigate; to discover, find”) [and other forms], from Old French espier (“to watch”) (modern French épier (“to keep an eye on, watch; to spy on; (dated) to watch for”)), from Vulgar Latin *spiāre, from Frankish *spehōn (“to look, peer; to spy”), from Proto-Germanic *spehōną (“to look, peer; to spy”), from Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- (“to look, observe, see”). Doublet of spy. Cognates * Ancient Greek σκέπτομαι (sképtomai, “to examine; to look at; to consider, think”) * Italian spiare * Latin speciō (“to look at, observe, watch”) * Old High German spehōn (modern German spähen) * Occitan espiar * Spanish espiar

  1. derived from *speḱ-✻ — “to look, observe, see”
  2. derived from *spehōną✻ — “to look, peer; to spy”
  3. derived from *spehōn✻ — “to look, peer; to spy”
  4. derived from *spiāre✻
  5. derived from espier — “to watch”
  6. inherited from aspien

Definitions

  1. To find out or observe (someone or something, especially if not easy to see) by spying or…

    To find out or observe (someone or something, especially if not easy to see) by spying or looking; to catch sight of; to see; to spot.

    • to espy land    to espy a man in a crowd
    • No wyse man entreth in to a gardein but he sone espiethe good herbes from nettiles, and treadeth the nettiles under his feete whiles he gadreth good herbes.
    • For with ſuch puiſſance and impetuous maine / Thoſe Champions broke on them, that forſt the fly, / Like ſcattered Sheepe, whenas the Shepherds ſwaine / A Lyon and a Tigre doth eſpye, / With greedy pace forth ruſhing from the foreſt nye.

  2. To see (someone or something) without foreplanning or unexpectedly.

    • Come on my Lords the better foot before, / Straight vvill I bring you to the lothſome pit, / VVhere I eſpied the Panther faſt a ſleepe.
    • And as one of them opened his ſacke, to giue his aſſe prouender in the Inne, he eſpied his money: for behold, it was in his ſackes mouth.

  3. To observe (someone or something) as a spy

    To observe (someone or something) as a spy; also, to examine or observe (someone or something) carefully; or to look out or watch for.

    • Novv queſtion me no more vve are eſpied, / Here comes a parcell of our hopefull bootie, / VVhich dreads not yet their liues deſtruction.
    • Fortie yeeres olde was I when Moſes the ſeruant of the Lord ſent me from Kadeſh Barnea, to eſpie out the land, and I brought him worde againe, as it was in mine heart.
  4. ›+ 7 more definitions

    1. To become aware of (a fact, information, etc.).

      • If being the Commander of an army, thou eſpieſt a groſſe and manifeſt error in thine Enemy, look vvell to thy ſelfe, for treachery is not farre off: Hee vvhom deſire of victory binds too much, is apt to ſtumble at his ovvne Ruine.
      • VVhat faults ſoever Thou eſpieſt here, / Fall to, and make thee merry vvith the Cheer.

    2. To observe as a spy, to spy

      To observe as a spy, to spy; also, to examine or observe carefully; or to look out or watch.

      • O inhabitant of Aroer, ſtand by the way, and eſpie; aſke him that fleeth, and her that eſcapeth, and ſay, VVhat is done?
      • [H]eedful be his eye, / And firm his step, who on the dark edge [of a peak] stands / Beneath the cloud, and downward dares espy.

    3. An act of finding out or observing by spying or looking

      An act of finding out or observing by spying or looking; an espial or espying.

      • When as the Eagle, Ioves great bird, did ſee her enemy, / Sharpe warre in th' ayre with beake ſhe did prepare / Gainſt Serpent feeding in the wood, after eſpy / Cauſe it her egges and young fiercely in peeces tare.

    4. A scout or spy.

      • Hobomak as confidently aſſured vs it was falſe, and ſent his vvife as an eſpy to ſee; […]

    5. The act or process of learning secret information through clandestine means

      The act or process of learning secret information through clandestine means; espionage.

    6. A surname.

    7. A census-designated place in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States.

The neighborhood

Derived

espiable, espier, espying, unespied

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at espy. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01espy02easy03skill04discrimination05discriminating06discerning07discern08descry

A definitional loop anchored at espy. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at espy

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA