espy

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es·py

 (ĭ-spī′)
tr.v. es·pied, es·py·ing, es·pies
To catch sight of (something that is distant, partially hidden, or obscure); glimpse. See Synonyms at see1.

[Middle English espien, from Old French espier, to watch, of Germanic origin; see spek- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

espy

(ɪˈspaɪ)
vb, -pies, -pying or -pied
(tr) to catch sight of or perceive (something distant or previously unnoticed); detect: to espy a ship on the horizon.
[C14: from Old French espier to spy, of Germanic origin]
esˈpier n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

es•py

(ɪˈspaɪ)

v.t. -pied, -py•ing.
to see at a distance; catch sight of.
[1175–1225; Middle English < Old French espier « Germanic; see espionage]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

espy


Past participle: espied
Gerund: espying

Imperative
espy
espy
Present
I espy
you espy
he/she/it espies
we espy
you espy
they espy
Preterite
I espied
you espied
he/she/it espied
we espied
you espied
they espied
Present Continuous
I am espying
you are espying
he/she/it is espying
we are espying
you are espying
they are espying
Present Perfect
I have espied
you have espied
he/she/it has espied
we have espied
you have espied
they have espied
Past Continuous
I was espying
you were espying
he/she/it was espying
we were espying
you were espying
they were espying
Past Perfect
I had espied
you had espied
he/she/it had espied
we had espied
you had espied
they had espied
Future
I will espy
you will espy
he/she/it will espy
we will espy
you will espy
they will espy
Future Perfect
I will have espied
you will have espied
he/she/it will have espied
we will have espied
you will have espied
they will have espied
Future Continuous
I will be espying
you will be espying
he/she/it will be espying
we will be espying
you will be espying
they will be espying
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been espying
you have been espying
he/she/it has been espying
we have been espying
you have been espying
they have been espying
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been espying
you will have been espying
he/she/it will have been espying
we will have been espying
you will have been espying
they will have been espying
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been espying
you had been espying
he/she/it had been espying
we had been espying
you had been espying
they had been espying
Conditional
I would espy
you would espy
he/she/it would espy
we would espy
you would espy
they would espy
Past Conditional
I would have espied
you would have espied
he/she/it would have espied
we would have espied
you would have espied
they would have espied
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.espy - catch sight of
sight, spy - catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes; "he caught sight of the king's men coming over the ridge"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

espy

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

espy

verb
To perceive, especially barely or fleetingly:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations

espy

[ɪsˈpaɪ] VT (liter) → divisar
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

espy

vt (old, liter)erspähen, erblicken
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

espy

[ɪˈspaɪ] vt (old) → notare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
A cock was once strutting up and down the farmyard among the hens when suddenly he espied something shinning amid the straw.
She straightway ascended to ask Jove to restore him; but before this could be done a Sculptor and a Critic passed that way and espied him.
Espied by some timid man-of-war or blundering discovery-vessel from afar, when the distance obscuring the swarming fowls, nevertheless still shows the white mass floating in the sun, and the white spray heaving high against it; straightway the whale's unharming corpse, with trembling fingers is set down in the log -- shoals, rocks, and breakers hereabouts: beware!
"Yes, it was stupid of me not to have thought of it," I answered, offering no explanation of the dead bee which at the moment I espied a little away in the grass, and saying nothing of the merry tramp and the melancholy musician.
The gamekeeper, about a year after he was dismissed from Mr Allworthy's service, and before Tom's selling the horse, being in want of bread, either to fill his own mouth or those of his family, as he passed through a field belonging to Mr Western espied a hare sitting in her form.