Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Spy

Spy (spī), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spied; p. pr. & vb. n. Spying.] [OE. spien, espien, OF. espier, F. épier, OHG. spehōn, G. spähen; akin to L. specere to see, Skr. spa. √ 169. Cf. Espy, v.t., Aspect, Auspice, Circumspect, Conspicuouc, Despise, Frontispiece, Inspect, Prospect, Respite, Scope, Scecimen, Spectacle, Specter, Speculate, Spice, Spite, Suspicion.] To gain sight of; to discover at a distance, or in a state of concealment; to espy; to see.

One in reading, skipped over all sentences where he spied a note of admiration. Swift.

2. To discover by close search or examination.

Look about with yout eyes; spy what things are to be reformed in the church of England. Latimer.

3. To explore; to view; inspect; and examine secretly, as a country; — usually with out.

Moses sent to spy Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof. Num. xxi. 32.

Spy, v. i. To search narrowly; to scrutinize.

It is my nature's plague To spy into abuses. Shak.

Spy, n.; pl. Spies (#). [See Spy, v., and cf. Espy, n.] 1. One who keeps a constant watch of the conduct of others. "These wretched spies of wit." Dryden.

2. (Mil.) A person sent secretly into an enemy's camp, territory, or fortifications, to inspect his works, ascertain his strength, movements, or designs, and to communicate such intelligence to the proper officer.

Spy money, money paid to a spy; the reward for private or secret intelligence regarding the enemy. — Spy Wednesday (Eccl.), the Wednesday immediately preceding the festival of Easter; — so called in allusion to the betrayal of Christ by Judas Iscariot.

Syn. — See Emissary, and Scout.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.