espy
An act of finding out or observing by spying or lookingAn act of finding out or observing by spying or looking; an espial or espying.
» Soon, crowned with woods, Zacynthos we espy, / Dulichium, Same and the rock-bound steep / of Neritos.
carlosalberto · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
3 senses(countable, obsolete, uncountable)An act of finding out or observing by spying or looking; an espial or espying.
(countable, obsolete, uncountable)A scout or spy.
(obsolete, uncountable)The act or process of learning secret information through clandestine means; espionage.
Examples
2 sentencesSoon, crowned with woods, Zacynthos we espy, / Dulichium, Same and the rock-bound steep / of Neritos.
Thereupon the queen, looking about, espied the small house on the other side of the Dordogne, standing by itself among the trees.
Origin
From Middle English aspie, espie (“covert investigation or observation, scouting, spying;From Middle English aspie, espie (“covert investigation or observation, scouting, spying; information obtained through spying; secret and treacherous plan, plot; treachery; a scout or spy”) [and other forms],
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.