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.
Her mother’s small mind yet had an uncanny power of partial divination, gained from years of experience and espial, that irritated while it impressed.
From The Wayfarers by Cutting, Mary Stewart Doubleday
Her system of espial is even more minute and irritating than that of Russia.
From The Destroyer A Tale of International Intrigue by Stevenson, Burton Egbert
He remembered his reluctant consent to McCloskey's proposal touching the espial upon Hallock, and was sorry he had given it.
From The Taming of Red Butte Western by Lynde, Francis
There is yet," he answered, having made espial; "for the attack goes but upon the street side, leaving the lane free.
From Idonia: A Romance of Old London by Wallis, Arthur F.
"Cry, cries, crying, cried, crier, decrial; Shy, shyer, shyest, shyly, shyness; Fly, flies, flying, flier, high-flier; Sly, slyer, slyest, slyly, slyness; Spy, spies, spying, spied, espial; Dry, drier, driest, dryly, dryness."
From The Grammar of English Grammars by Brown, Goold
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.
