espial
Americannoun
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the act of spying.
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the act of keeping watch; observation.
noun
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the act or fact of being seen or discovered
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the act of noticing
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the act of spying upon; secret observation
Etymology
Origin of espial
1350–1400; Middle English espiaille < Middle French. See espy, -al 2
Vocabulary lists containing espial
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Secured from espial, absorbed in each other, they were able, thanks to the surrounding clamor of voices, to discuss their future plans with some degree of confidence.
From Fran by Ellis, J. Breckenridge (John Breckenridge)
The act of espial had always been hateful to him: he preferred to trust his brethren, and it cost far less trouble.
From Brother Copas by Quiller-Couch, Arthur Thomas, Sir
It was even possible, he thought, that, if she had not herself seen Cecily, some one in her employment had made the espial for her.
From The Emancipated by Gissing, George
I saw not what was to be gained by any such long-range espial in the darkness.
From The Master of Appleby A Novel Tale Concerning Itself in Part with the Great Struggle in the Two Carolinas; but Chiefly with the Adventures Therein of Two Gentlemen Who Loved One and the Same Lady by Lynde, Francis
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
