espial

American  

[ih-spahy-uhl] / ɪˈspaɪ əl /

noun

1. the act of spying.

2. the act of keeping watch; observation.

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espial British  

/ ɪˈspaɪəl /

noun

1. the act or fact of being seen or discovered

2. the act of noticing

3. the act of spying upon; secret observation

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Etymology

Origin of espial

1350–1400; Middle English espiaille < Middle French. See espy, -al ²

Example Sentences

Wondering we come into this lodge of watchmen, this office of espial; let us not retreat astonished and ashamed.

From Sketches from Concord and Appledore by Stearns, Frank Preston

Presently he moved forward, and, with head still bent, approached the lower end of the garden, where, in a wall higher than that over which Goldthorpe made his espial, there was a wooden door.

From The House of Cobwebs and Other Stories by Gissing, George

The system of espial, too, was carried out with increased severity.

From The Life of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France by Yonge, Charles Duke

She did not intend an espial upon Anthony; the question was born of pain and bewilderment.

From A Man's Hearth by Ingram, Eleanor M. (Eleanor Marie)

At last, safe from every chance of espial, she sat down again in her chair before the desk, leaned her elbows on the desk, and looked desperately, miserably, into the joyous face of the picture.

From Stories That End Well An Adventure in Altruria——Through the Terrors of the Law——The Real Thing——The Old Partisan——Max—Or His Picture——The Stout Miss Hopkins' Bicycle——The Spellbinder——The Object of the Federation——The Little Lonely Girl——The Hero of Company G——A Miracle Play by Thanet, Octave