spy

English

Etymology

Middle English spien, aphetic variant of earlier espien "to espy", from Old French espier (“to spy”) (espie "a spy"), from Frankish *spehōn (“to spy”), from Proto-Germanic *spehōną (“to see, look”), from Proto-Indo-European *spek- (“to look”). Akin to Old High German spehōn, spehhōn "to scout, look out for, spy" (German spähen "to spy"), Middle Dutch spien "to spy", Dutch bespieden "to spy on".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spaɪ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ

Noun

spy (plural spies)

1. A person who secretly watches and examines the actions of other individuals or organizations and gathers information on them (usually to gain an advantage).
   • 2013 June 29, “Travels and travails”, The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 55: 

     Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.

Translations

person who secretly watches

• Abkhaz: please add this translation if you can
• Afrikaans: spioen
• Arabic: جاسوس m (jāsūs)
• Armenian: լրտես (lrtes)
• Avar: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: шпионин (bg) (shpionin)
• Catalan: espia (ca) f
• Chechen: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 間諜 (zh), 间谍 (zh) (jiàndié)

• Czech: vyzvědač m, špión m
• Dutch: spion (nl) m, spionne f
• Esperanto: spiono (eo)
• Estonian: spioon
• Faroese: njósnari m
• Finnish: vakooja (fi), vakoilija (fi)
• French: espion (fr) m, espionne (fr) f
• Georgian: ჯაშუში (ǰašuši)
• German: Spion (de) m, Spionin f
• Greek: κατάσκοπος (el) m (katáskopos)
• Hebrew: מרגל m (meragel), מרגלת f (meragelet)
• Hindi: जासूस m (jāsūs)
• Hungarian: kém (hu), spion (hu)
• Icelandic: njósnari m
• Indonesian: mata-mata
• Irish: spiaire m
• Italian: spia (it) f
• Japanese: 間諜 (ja) (かんちょう, kanchō), スパイ (ja) (supai)
• Jèrriais: êpieux m
• Khmer: ចារបុរស (caa bo’rɑh)
• Korean: 간첩 (ko) (gancheop) (間諜 (ko)), 스파이 (ko) (seupai)

• Kurdish: sîxur (ku), casûs (ku), diznêr (ku), xefnêr (ku), şofar (ku), spiyon (ku)
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: шпион m (špíon)
• Malay: pengintip
• Maori: tūtei, pūrahorua, kaitūtei
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian: spion m
• Ossetian: шпион (špion), дзырдхӕссӕг (ʒyrdxæssæg)
• Persian: جاسوس (fa) (jâsus)
• Polish: szpieg (pl) m
• Portuguese: espião (pt) m
• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: шпион (ru) m (špión), шпионка (ru) f (špiónka), агент (ru) m (agént)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: шпијун m, шпијунка f, ухода m

  Roman: špìjūn m, špìjūnka f, ùhoda m

• Slovak: sliedič m
• Sotho: tlhwela
• Spanish: espía (es) m, chivato (es) m
• Swahili: majasusi (sw)
• Swedish: spion (sv) c
• Telugu: వేగు (te) (vēgu), గూఢచారి (gūḍhacāri)
• Thai: สายลับ (săai láp)
• Tibetan: སོ་པ (so pa)
• Turkish: ajan (tr), casus (tr)
• Tuvan: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: шпигун m (špyhún)
• Urdu: جاسوس m (jāsūs)
• Vietnamese: gián điệp (vi) (間諜)
• Volapük: (♂♀) spionan (vo), (♂) hispionan, (♀) jispionan
• Yiddish: please add this translation if you can

Derived terms

• spy ring

Verb

spy (third-person singular simple present spies, present participle spying, simple past and past participle spied)

1. (intransitive) To act as a spy.

   During the Cold War, Russia and America would each spy on each other for recon.

2. (transitive) To spot; to catch sight of.

   I think I can spy that hot guy coming over here.

   • Jonathan Swift

     One in reading, skipped over all sentences where he spied a note of admiration.

   • Latimer

     Look about with your eyes; spy what things are to be reformed in the church of England.

3. (intransitive) To search narrowly; to scrutinize.
   • Shakespeare

     It is my nature's plague / To spy into abuses.

4. (transitive) To explore; to view; inspect and examine secretly, as a country.
   • Bible, Numbers xxi. 32

     Moses sent to spy Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof.

Translations

to act as a spy

• Afrikaans: spioeneer
• Catalan: espiar (ca)
• Chinese: 暗中偵察, 暗中侦察 (ànzhōng zhānchá)
• Czech: špehovat, slídit
• Dutch: spioneren (nl), bespieden (nl)
• Esperanto: spioni
• Finnish: vakoilla
• French: espionner (fr)
• German: ausspionieren (de)
• Greek: κατασκοπεύσει (el) (kataskopéfsei)
• Hungarian: kémkedik (hu)
• Icelandic: njósna
• Italian: spiare
• Latin: speculor
• Macedonian: шпионира (špioníra)

• Malay: intip
• Maori: tūtei
• Norwegian: spionere
• Portuguese: espiar (pt), espionar
• Quechua: chapatiyay
• Russian: шпионить (ru) (špiónit’), следить (ru) (sledít’)
• Serbo-Croatian: шпијунирати, уходити

  Roman: špijunírati, uhòditi

• Sotho: hlwela
• Spanish: espiar (es)
• Swahili: majasusi (sw)
• Swedish: spionera (sv)
• Turkish: casusluk yapmak, ajanlık yapmak
• Tuvan: шивишкиннээр (šiviškinneer)
• Volapük: spionön (vo)

to spot at a distance

• Icelandic: koma auga á
• Italian: spiare
• Latin: speculor

• Norwegian: få øye på
• Swahili: majasusi (sw)

Derived terms

• spy on

Related terms

• spyglass
• spyware

See also

• Wikipedia article on spies

Anagrams

• SYP

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse spýja, from Proto-Germanic *spīwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ptyēw- (“to spit, vomit”). Compare Swedish and Danish spy, Icelandic spýja, English spew, Dutch spuwen, German speien.

Noun

spy n (definite singular spyet; uncountable)

1. barf, vomit

Verb

spy (present tense spyr; past tense spydde; past participle spydd)

1. barf, throw up, vomit

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Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse spýja, from Proto-Germanic *spīwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ptyēw- (“to spit, vomit”). Compare Norwegian and Danish spy, Icelandic spýja, English spew, Dutch spuwen, German speien.

Verb

spy

1. to throw up, to vomit

Conjugation

Conjugation of spy

	Active	Passive
Infinitive	spy	—
Present tense	spyr	—
Past tense	spydde	—
Supine	spytt	—
Imperative	spy	—
Present participle	spyende
Past participle	spydd

Synonyms

• kräkas

Related terms

• spya
• spyboll