spy
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spy
- /spaɪ/
Rhymes with -aɪ
Where it comes from
From Middle English spien, aphetic variant of earlier espien (“to espy”), from Old French espier (“to spy”), from Frankish *spehōn (“to spy”), from Proto-Germanic *spehōną (“to see, look”), from Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- (“to look”). Akin to German spähen (“to spy”), Dutch spieden (“to spy”).
The noun displaced native Old English sċēawere (literally “watcher”), which was also the word for "mirror." In this sense, the verb displaced Old English sċēawian, which was also the word for "to watch" and became the Modern English word show.
Distant cognate vie PIE with Latin speculātor, Ancient Greek κατάσκοπος (katáskopos).
Compare typologically Russian согляда́тай (sogljadátaj) (akin to гляде́ть (gljadétʹ)).
noun spies
- A person who secretly watches and examines the actions of other individuals or organizations and gathers information on them (usually to gain an advantage). The dead leap at the throat, destroy The meaning of the day; dark forms Have scaled your walls, and spies betray Old secrets to amorphous swarms.
- A defensive player assigned to cover an offensive backfield player man-to-man when they are expected to engage in a running play, but the offensive player does not run with the ball immediately.
Similar: espial, espy, ghost, intelligencer, secret agent, spook, spy, undie
verb spies · spying · spied
- To act as a spy. During the Cold War, Russia and America would each spy on each other for recon.
- To spot; to catch sight of; to espy. I think I can spy that hot guy coming over here.
- To search narrowly; to scrutinize. (As I confeſſe it is my Natures plague / To ſpy into Abuſes, and of my iealouſie / Shapes faults that are not)
- To explore; to see; to view; inspect and examine secretly, as a country.
