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

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

How could he keep an espial on the house?

From Will Warburton by Gissing, George

They heard a vehicle draw up before the house, and Barbara, making cautious espial from the windows, exclaimed that it was Mr. Musselwhite.

From The Emancipated by Gissing, George

"But here, my lord," answered one of the youths, "is a knave who comes on treacherous espial!"

From The Abbot by Scott, Walter, Sir

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