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.
Then wisdom altered its method and spoke of espial and discovery.
From The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
She did not intend an espial upon Anthony; the question was born of pain and bewilderment.
From A Man's Hearth by Eleanor M. (Eleanor Marie) Ingram
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 Francis Lynde
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 George Gissing
How could he keep an espial on the house?
From Will Warburton by George Gissing
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.
