spy
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
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[edit]
Noun[edit]
spy (plural 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).
- 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.
Synonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]
person who secretly watches
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Derived terms[edit]
Verb[edit]
spy (third-person singular simple present spies, present participle spying, simple past and past participle spied)
- (intransitive) To act as a spy.
- During the Cold War, Russia and America would each spy on each other for recon.
- (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.
- (intransitive) To search narrowly; to scrutinize.
- Shakespeare
- It is my nature's plague / To spy into abuses.
- Shakespeare
- (transitive) To explore; to see; to view; inspect and examine secretly, as a country.
- Bible, Numbers xxi. 32
- Moses sent to spy Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof.
- Bible, Numbers xxi. 32
Translations[edit]
to act as a spy
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to spot at a distance
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
See also[edit]
Descendants[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Norwegian Bokmål[edit]
Etymology[edit]
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[edit]
spy n (definite singular spyet) (uncountable)
Verb[edit]
spy (present tense spyr, simple past spydde, past participle spydd)
Synonyms[edit]
References[edit]
- “spy” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Swedish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
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.
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
spy
Conjugation[edit]
Conjugation of spy (weak)
Quotations[edit]
Synonyms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Categories:
- English terms derived from the PIE root *speḱ-
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Frankish
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English transitive verbs
- en:Espionage
- en:Occupations
- en:People
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from Old Norse
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Norwegian Bokmål lemmas
- Norwegian Bokmål nouns
- Norwegian Bokmål uncountable nouns
- Norwegian Bokmål verbs
- Swedish terms derived from Old Norse
- Swedish terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Swedish terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish verbs
- Swedish weak verbs
