espy

¹ American  

[ih-spahy] / ɪˈspaɪ /

verb (used with object)

espied, espying

1. to see at a distance; catch sight of.

   Synonyms:

   perceive, discover, descry, discern

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Espy ² American  

[es-pee] / ˈɛs pi /

noun

1. James Pollard 1785–1860, U.S. meteorologist.

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espy British  

/ ɪˈspaɪ /

verb

1. (tr) to catch sight of or perceive (something distant or previously unnoticed); detect

   to espy a ship on the horizon

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Espy Scientific  

/ ĕs′pē /

1. American meteorologist who is credited with the first correct explanation of the role heat plays in cloud formation and growth. His use of the telegraph in relaying meteorological observations and tracking storms laid the foundation for modern weather forecasting.

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Other Word Forms

• espier noun
• unespied adjective

Etymology

Origin of espy

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English espien, espyen, from Old French espier, ultimately from Germanic; compare German spähen “to look out”; skeptic, speculate

Explanation

To espy something is to see it, or glimpse it. If you look through binoculars long enough, you might espy a colorful bird. Though you can use the verb espy whenever you want to say "see," "spot," or "notice," it's primarily a literary word that you'll mostly find in books. One character might espy another strolling in a garden, or a pipe-smoking detective might espy a clue behind a parlor door. Espy comes from the Old French espiier, "observe, watch or spy on," from a Germanic root.

Example Sentences

And sympathy for the people whom we espy is born out of that complicity, a compassion that stems from the false sense that we are observing people’s most private moments without permission, undetected.

From Salon • Jul. 12, 2015

A traveller upon the sea she fared, fleeting on with foam about her throat over the waves, over the ocean-streams with wreathéd prow, until they might espy the Geatish cliffs and headlands that they knew.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 2, 2014

I did espy one couple who had obtained a turkey.

From Time Magazine Archive

From Chipping Norton, one can espy an extraordinary edifice, half-castle, half-factory, called the Bliss tweed mill.

From Time Magazine Archive

We could not espy Pomp, living or dead.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson