spy

Signification (Anglais)

Noun

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).
2. A defensive player assigned to cover an offensive backfield player man-to-man when they are expected to engage in a running play, but the offensive player does not run with the ball immediately.

Verb

1. To act as a spy.
2. To spot; to catch sight of.
3. To search narrowly; to scrutinize.
4. To explore; to see; to view; inspect and examine secretly, as a country.

Concepts

espion

espionner

espionne

épier

apercevoir

agent secret

espincher

voir

mouchard

agent

faire de l’espionnage

moucharder

reconnaître

remarquer

examiner

mater

observer

reluquer

lorgner

sondeur

viser

surveiller

déceler

détecter

trouver

braquer

s’apercevoir

guetter

guigner

barbouze

épiez

épions

faire le détective

fouiner

fourrer le nez partout

Prononcé comme (IPA)

/spaɪ/

Étymologie (Anglais)

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”).
The noun displaced native Old English sċēawere (literally “watcher”), which was also the word for "mirror." In this sense, the verb displaced Old English sċēawian, which was also the word for "to watch" and became the Modern English word show.