spy

English

Etymology

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”).

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”, in 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
• Albanian: spiun (sq) m
• Arabic: جَاسُوس m ‎(jāsūs)
• Armenian: լրտես (hy) ‎(lrtes)
• Avar: please add this translation if you can
• Azeri: casus (az)
• Belarusian: шпіён m ‎(špijón)
• Bulgarian: шпио́нин (bg) m ‎(špiónin)
• Burmese: သူလျှို ‎(suhlyui)
• 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
• Danish: spion c
• 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 ‎(ǯašuši), შპიონი ‎(šṗioni), მოთვალთვალე ‎(motvaltvale)
• German: Spion (de) m, Spionin (de) f
• Greek: κατάσκοπος (el) m ‎(katáskopos)
• Hebrew: מְרַגֵל m ‎(meragel), מרגלת f ‎(meragelet)
• Hindi: जासूस (hi) m ‎(jāsūs)
• Hungarian: kém (hu), spion (hu)
• Icelandic: njósnari m
• Indonesian: mata-mata (id)
• Irish: spiaire m, brathadóir m
• Italian: spia (it) f
• Japanese: 間諜 (ja) ‎(かんちょう, kanchō), スパイ (ja) ‎(supai), 密使 ‎(mishi)
• Kazakh: шпион ‎(şpïon), тыңшы ‎(tıñşı)
• 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)
• Kyrgyz: шпион (ky) ‎(şpion), тыңчы (ky) ‎(tıñçı)
• Lao: ໃສ້ເສິກ ‎(sai sœk), ເຊີຽ ‎(sœ̄i), ຈາລະບຸລຸດ ‎(chā la bu lut), ນັກສືບ ‎(nak sư̄p)
• Latvian: spiegs m, spiedze f

• Lithuanian: šnipas m
• Macedonian: шпи́он m ‎(špíon)
• Malay: pengintip
• Maori: tūtei, pūrahorua, kaitūtei
• Mongolian: тагнуул (mn) ‎(tagnuul)
• Navajo: naalchiʼí
• Norman: êpieux m, espion m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: spion m

  Nynorsk: spion m

• Ossetian: шпион ‎(špion), дзырдхӕссӕг ‎(ʒyrdxæssæg)
• Persian: جاسوس (fa) ‎(jâsus), اپیشه (fa) ‎(apiše)
• Polish: szpieg (pl) m
• Portuguese: espião (pt) m
• Romanian: spion (ro) m, spioană (ro) f
• Russian: шпио́н (ru) m ‎(špión), шпио́нка (ru) f ‎(špiónka), аге́нт (ru) m ‎(agént), шпик (ru) m ‎(špik) (colloquial)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: шпијун m, шпијунка f, ухода m

  Roman: špìjūn (sh) m, špìjūnka (sh) f, ùhoda (sh) m

• Slovak: sliedič m
• Slovene: vohun (sl) m, vohunka f
• Sotho: tlhwela
• Spanish: espía (es) m, chivato (es) m
• Swahili: jasusi (sw) class 5/6, mpelelezi (sw) class 1/2
• Swedish: spion (sv) c
• Tagalog: batyaw
• Tajik: ҷосус ‎(josus)
• Telugu: వేగు (te) ‎(vēgu), గూఢచారి (te) ‎(gūḍhacāri)
• Thai: สายลับ ‎(săai láp)
• Tibetan: སོ་པ ‎(so pa)
• Turkish: ajan (tr), casus (tr)
• Turkmen: içaly
• Tuvan: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: шпигу́н m ‎(špyhún)
• Urdu: جاسوس m ‎(jāsūs)
• Uzbek: josus (uz), shpion (uz)
• Vietnamese: gián điệp (vi) (間諜)
• Volapük: (♂♀) spionan (vo), (♂) hispionan, (♀) jispionan
• Yiddish: שפּיאָן m ‎(shpyon)

Synonyms

• intelligencer

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
• Armenian: լրտեսել (hy) ‎(lrtesel)
• Catalan: espiar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 暗中偵察, 暗中侦察 ‎(ànzhōng zhānchá)

• Czech: špehovat, slídit
• Dutch: spioneren (nl), bespieden (nl)
• Esperanto: spioni
• Finnish: vakoilla (fi)
• French: espionner (fr)
• Georgian: ჯაშუშობა ‎(ǯašušoba), შპიონაჟი ‎(šṗionaži), თვალთვალი ‎(tvaltvali), დაზვერვა ‎(dazverva), მიკვლევა ‎(miḳvleva), კვალის მიგნება ‎(ḳvalis migneba)
• German: ausspionieren (de)
• Greek: κατασκοπεύω (el) ‎(kataskopévo)
• Hungarian: kémkedik (hu)
• Icelandic: njósna
• Indonesian: memata-matai
• Italian: spiare (it)
• Latin: speculor

• Latvian: spiegot
• Macedonian: шпионира ‎(špioníra)
• Malay: intip
• Maori: tūtei
• Norwegian: spionere
• Polish: szpiegować (pl)
• Portuguese: espiar (pt), espionar
• Quechua: chapatiyay
• Romanian: spiona (ro)
• Russian: шпио́нить (ru) ‎(špiónitʹ), следи́ть (ru) ‎(sledítʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: шпијунирати, уходити

  Roman: špijunírati (sh), uhòditi (sh)

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

to spot at a distance

• Icelandic: koma auga á
• Italian: spiare (it)
• Latin: speculor
• Latvian: ieraudzīt, saskatīt

• Norwegian: få øye på
• Polish: dostrzec (pl) pf
• Swahili: majasusi (sw)

Derived terms

• spy on

Related terms

• spyglass
• spyware

See also

• Wikipedia article on spies

Descendants

• Japanese: スパイ (supai)
• Korean: 스파이 (seupai)

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 (US), vomit, spew

Verb

spy ‎(present tense spyr, simple past spydde, past participle spydd)

1. to barf (US), throw up, vomit, spew (also figurative)

Synonyms

• kaste opp

References

• “spy” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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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