verb · transitive · rare

espy

espy · espies · espied · espying

заметить, приметить, обнаружить, засечь

To find out or observe by spying or lookingTo find out or observe (someone or something, especially if not easy to see) by spying or looking; to catch sight of; to see; to spot.

UK/ɪˈspaɪ/US/əˈspaɪ/

» Soon, crowned with woods, Zacynthos we espy, / Dulichium, Same and the rock-bound steep / of Neritos.

carlosalberto · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR

Meaning

5 senses

(transitive)To find out or observe (someone or something, especially if not easy to see) by spying or looking; to catch sight of; to see; to spot.
to espy land to espy a man in a crowd
заме́титьzamétitʹ, приме́титьprimétitʹ, обнару́житьobnarúžitʹ
catch sight of
(transitive)To see (someone or something) without foreplanning or unexpectedly.
заме́титьzamétitʹ, приме́титьprimétitʹ, обнару́житьobnarúžitʹ
(obsolete, transitive)To observe (someone or something) as a spy; also, to examine or observe (someone or something) carefully; or to look out or watch for.
(obsolete, transitive)To become aware of (a fact, information, etc.).
(archaic, intransitive)To observe as a spy, to spy; also, to examine or observe carefully; or to look out or watch.
наблюда́тьnabljudátʹ

Examples

2 sentences

Soon, crowned with woods, Zacynthos we espy, / Dulichium, Same and the rock-bound steep / of Neritos.
carlosalberto · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
Thereupon the queen, looking about, espied the small house on the other side of the Dordogne, standing by itself among the trees.
Cangarejo · Tatoeba · CC0 · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem

Translations

2 languages

Русский

By meaning 2

to find out or observe (something, especially if not easy to see) by spying or looking:

to examine or observe carefully:

Origin

From Middle English aspien, espien (“to make covert observations of (a person or place) wi

From Middle English aspien, espien (“to make covert observations of (a person or place) with hostile intent, to spy on; to seek to discover by spying; to act as a spy; to catch sight of, see; to look over, observe; to wait in ambush, to ambush; to plot against; to look for, seek to find; to inquire or look into, investigate; to discover, find”) [and other forms], from Old French espier (“to watch”) (modern French épier (“to keep an eye on, watch; to spy on; (dated) to watch for”)), from Vulgar Latin *spiāre, from Frankish *spehōn (“to look, peer; to spy”), from Proto-Germanic *spehōną (“to look, peer; to spy”), from Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- (“to look, observe, see”). Doublet of spy.

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