espier

English

Etymology

espy +‎ -er

Noun

espier (plural espiers)

1. One who espies.

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Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “espier”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Anagrams

• Peirse, Pierse

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Middle French

Verb

espier

1. to watch

Conjugation

• Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Conjugation of espier

infinitive	simple	espier
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle1 or gerund2	simple	espiant
	compound	present participle or gerund of avoir + past participle
past participle		espié
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ie (i’)	tu	il, elle	nous	vous	ilz, elles
(simple tenses)	present	espie	espies	espie	espions	espiez	espient
	imperfect	espiois, espioys	espiois, espioys	espioit, espioyt	espiions, espiyons	espiiez, espiyez	espioient, espioyent
	past historic	espia	espias	espia	espiasmes	espiastes	espierent
	future	espierai, espieray	espieras	espiera	espierons	espierez	espieront
	conditional	espierois, espieroys	espierois, espieroys	espieroit, espieroyt	espierions, espieryons	espieriez, espieryez	espieroient, espieroyent
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que ie (i’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ilz, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	espie	espies	espie	espions	espiez	espient
	imperfect	espiasse	espiasses	espiast	espiassions	espiassiez	espiassent
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	espie	—	espions	espiez	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The present participle was variable in gender and number until the 17th century (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], Une esthétique nouvelle: Honoré d'Urfé, correcteur de l'Astrée, p. 179). The French Academy would eventually declare it not to be declined in 1679.
2 The gerund was held to be invariable by grammarians of the early 17th century, and was usable with preposition en, as in Modern French, although the preposition was not mandatory (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], op. cit., p. 180).

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Old French

Alternative forms

• aspier

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *spiō (“to spy, espy”), from Frankish *spehōn (“to spy, watch”).

Verb

espier

1. to watch

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

    Conjugation of espier (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		espier			avoir espïé
gerund		en espiant			gerund of avoir + past participle
present participle		espiant
past participle		espïé
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	il	nos	vos	il
simple tenses	present	espi	espïes	espïe	espions	espïez	espïent
	imperfect	espioie, espïeie, espioe, espïeve	espioies, espïeies, espioes, espïeves	espioit, espïeit, espiot, espïeve	espiiiens, espiiens	espiiiez, espiiez	espioient, espïeient, espioent, espïevent
	preterite	espiai	espias	espia	espiames	espiastes	espïerent
	future	espïerai	espïeras	espïera	espïerons	espïeroiz, espïereiz, espïerez	espïeront
	conditional	espïeroie, espïereie	espïeroies, espïereies	espïeroit, espïereit	espïeriiens, espïeriens	espïeriiez, espïeriez	espïeroient, espïereient
compound tenses	present perfect	present tense of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect tense of avoir + past participle
	past anterior	preterite tense of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future tense of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional tense of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que jo	que tu	qu’il	que nos	que vos	qu’il
simple tenses	present	espi	espis	espit	espions	espïez	espïent
	imperfect	espiasse	espiasses	espiast	espiissons, espiissiens	espiissoiz, espiissez, espiissiez	espiassent
compound tenses	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nos	vos	–
		—	espïe	—	espions	espïez	—

Synonyms

• esguarder
• reguarder

Related terms

• espie

Descendants

• Angevin: échaupier
• Bourbonnais-Berrichon: épiger (Berrichon, Bourbonnais)
• Middle French: espier
  • French: épier
    • Haitian Creole: espyon
• Lorrain: h'pié, khpiyé, khpwé
• Norman: êpier
• Picard: èpieu (Athois)
• Walloon: spwè
• → Middle English: aspien, aspyen, espien, espyen, spien
  • English: aspy, espy, spy
  • Scots: aspy, espy, spy