“espied” is a form of
espy
UK /ɪˈspaɪ/ · US /əˈspaɪ/ verb, noun, proper noun
Forms espies espying espied espiest espyest espieth espyeth Espys espie Espey
- verb 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”
- verb To see (someone or something) without foreplanning or unexpectedly.
- verb To observe (someone or something) as a spy; also, to examine or observe (someone or something) carefully; or to look out or watch for.
- verb To become aware of (a fact, information, etc.).
- verb (intransitive, archaic) To observe as a spy, to spy; also, to examine or observe carefully; or to look out or watch.
- noun An act of finding out or observing by spying or looking; an espial or espying.
- noun A scout or spy.
- noun (uncountable) The act or process of learning secret information through clandestine means; espionage.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun A census-designated place in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States.
Synonyms
descry discern discover catch sight of clock decern goam ken make out spot spy
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.
* Ancient Greek σκέπτομαι (sképtomai, “to examine; to look at; to consider, think”)
* Latin speciō (“to look at, observe, watch”)
* Old High German spehōn (modern German spähen)
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],
from Anglo-Norman espie, Old French espie, from espier (verb): see further at etymology 1.
Shortened form of Gillespie.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes; to discover, as a distant object partly concealed, or not obvious to notice; to see at a glance; to discern unexpectedly; to spy; as, to espy land; to espy a man in a crowd.
- verb To inspect narrowly; to examine and keep watch upon; to watch; to observe.
- verb To look or search narrowly; to look about; to watch; to take notice; to spy. Stand by the way, and espy. Jer. xlviii. 19.
- noun A spy; a scout. [Obs.] Huloet.
Etymology [OF. espier, F. épier, from OHG. speh to watch, spy, G. spähen; akin to L. specere to look, species sight, shape, appearance, kind. See Spice, Spy, and cf. Espionage.]
Etymology [OF. espie. See Espy, v., Spy.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “espy”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details