Dictionary

espial en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ɛˈspaɪ.əl/
• /ɪˈspaɪ.əl/

Etymology

From Middle English espiaille, from Old French espier (“to watch”).

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) An act of noticing or observing.
   • Secure—unnoted—Conrad's prow pass'd by, / And anchor'd where his ambush meant to lie; / Screen'd from espial by the jutting cape, / That rears on high its rude fantastic shape. 1814, Lord Byron, “Canto I”, in The Corsair, a Tale, London: […] Thomas Davison, […], for John Murray, […], →OCLC, stanza XVII, page 30, lines 597–600:
   • She had, however, the comfort of knowing that her lady's wardrobe was in her power, but it did not avail her much, as the servants of the house were so shocked at the Frenchwoman's refusal to nurse her sick lady, that every eye was upon her in the way of espial and condemnation; […] 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XLII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 232:
2. (countable, uncountable) The fact of noticing or observing; a discovery.
3. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) A scout; a spy.
   • these be most necessarie for the espials belonging vnto a camp 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], (please specify |tome=1 or 2), London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC:
   • King. Sweet Gertrude leave us too, For we have closely sent for Hamlet hither, That he, as 'twere by accident, may there Affront Ophelia. Her Father[ ]and my selfe (lawful espials) Will so bestow our selves, that seeing unseene We may of their encounter frankely judge c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], page 265, column 1:

Forms

Relateds

spy · espy

Synonyms

espy · espy

Translations (6)

ru высле́живание (act of noticing or observing) · bg съзиране (act of noticing or observing) · pl wyśledzenie (act of noticing or observing) · ru наблюде́ние (act of noticing or observing) · pl dostrzeżenie (act of noticing or observing) · bg забелязване (act of noticing or observing)