# espy

> English word · Verb · IPA /ɪˈspaɪ/ · frequency rank #65,099

## Definitions
1. 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.
2. To see (someone or something) without foreplanning or unexpectedly.
3. To observe (someone or something) as a spy; also, to examine or observe (someone or something) carefully; or to look out or watch for.
4. To become aware of (a fact, information, etc.).
5. To observe as a spy, to spy; also, to examine or observe carefully; or to look out or watch.

## Etymology
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.
Cognates
* Ancient Greek σκέπτομαι (sképtomai, “to examine; to look at; to consider, think”)
* Italian spiare
* Latin speciō (“to look at, observe, watch”)
* Old High German spehōn (modern German spähen)
* Occitan espiar
* Spanish espiar

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/espy