espy

See also: Espy

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French espier (French épier). More at spy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪˈspaɪ/
• Rhymes: -aɪ

Verb

espy (third-person singular simple present espies, present participle espying, simple past and past participle espied)

1. (transitive) To catch sight of; to see; to spot (said especially of something not easy to see)

   to espy land

   to espy a man in a crowd

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 14, page 311:

     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.

   • 1880, Charu Chandra Mookerjee translating Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Durgesa Nandini

     Bimala looked at the direction in silence. Deep and hard breathings entered her ear, and she espied something near the road.

   • 1893, Horatio Alger, Cast Upon the Breakers Chapter 2

     "Ha!" said John, espying the open casket, "where did you get all that jewelry?"

   • May 1, 2011, Alice Rawsthron in The New York Times, Skull and Crossbones as Branding Tool

     By the turn of the 18th century, when Captain Cranby espied Wynn's skull and crossbones, the piracy trade was flourishing and ambitious pirates were becoming increasingly sophisticated in the way they operated.

2. (transitive) To examine and keep watch upon; to watch; to observe.
   • (Can we date this quote by Jeremy Taylor and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     God is “inquisitive;” he looks for that which he fain would never find; God sets spies upon us; he looks upon us himself through the curtains of a cloud, and he sends angels to espy us in all our ways

3. (intransitive) To look or search narrowly; to look about; to watch; to take notice; to spy.
   • 1611, King James Bible, Jeremiah 48:19

     O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done?

Synonyms

See Thesaurus:spot

Translations

to catch sight of

• Bulgarian: съзирам (bg) (sǎziram), забелязвам (bg) (zabeljazvam)
• Dutch: bespeuren (nl), waarnemen (nl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: prospicio

to inspect narrowly

• Bulgarian: разглеждам (bg) (razgleždam), наблюдавам (bg) (nabljudavam)
• Dutch: onderzoeken (nl), bespioneren (nl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: prospicio

Anagrams

• Pyes, Spey, pyes, yeps