espionage

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espionage

/ˈɛs.pi.əˌnɑːʒ/

Where it comes from

Recorded since 1793, from French espionnage, from espionner (“to spy”), from Middle French espionner (“to spy”), from espion (“spy”), from Old French espion (“spy”), from Frankish *spehō (“spy”), from Frankish *spehōn (“to spy”), from Proto-Germanic *spehōną (“to spy, peek, peer”). In modern times, the French pronunciation of the s, which had fallen silent since the 13th century, was restored due to the influence of Italian spione (“spy”), and was therefore also adopted by the English. More at spy.

noun espionages

countable, uncountable The act or process of learning secret information through clandestine means. So intolerable did Heavy Benson's espionage become, that Raynham would have grown depopulated of its womankind had not Adrian interfered, who pointed out to the Baronet what a fearful arm his butler was wielding.
Similar: spying

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: spying, spy, surveillance, reconnaissance, maneuvering, eavesdropping, intelligence, spyware, reconnaisance, infiltration, snooping, wiretapping, bugging, shadowing, monitoring, scouting

Translations

Every language

noun act of learning secret information through clandestine means

Español	espionaje
한국어	스파이 행위 seupai haeng'wi, 간첩죄 gancheopjoe
日本語	スパイ行為 supai kōi, スパイ罪 supaizai, 間諜罪 kanchōzai
中文	間諜活動 /间谍活动 jiàndié huódòng
हिन्दी	गुप्तचर्या guptacaryā, जासूसी jāsūsī, चारवृत्ति cārvŕtti
Português	espionagem
Français	espionnage
Deutsch	Spionage
Italiano	spionaggio
Ελληνικά	κατασκοπία kataskopía, κατασκοπεία kataskopeía
Română	spionaj
Русский	шпиона́ж špionáž
Tiếng Việt	hoạt động tình báo
العربية	تَجَسُّس tajassus, جَاسُوسِيَّة jāsūsiyya
עברית	ריגול, רִגּוּל rigúl

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MLA

"espionage." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/espionage. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

espionage. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/espionage

Chicago

"espionage." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/espionage.

BibTeX

@misc{espionage_2026,
  title = {espionage},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/espionage},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}