spy

vt. 侦察；发现；暗中监视

vi. 侦察；当间谍

n. 间谍；密探

中文词源

spy 间谍，密探

来自古法语 espiier,观察，仔细看，偷看，来自 Proto-Germanic*spehona,注视，观察，来自 PIE*spek,看，观看，词源同 spectate,telescope.引申词义间谍，密探。

spy: spy: [13] A spy is etymologically someone who ‘looks’. The word was adapted from Old French espie ‘watcher, spy’, a derivative of espier ‘watch, spy’ (from which English gets the verb spy, and also espy [14] and espionage [18]). This in turn was formed from the borrowed Germanic base *spekh- (source of German spähen ‘reconnoitre, watch’ and Swedish speja ‘spy, scout’), which went back ultimately to Indo- European *spek- ‘look’ (source of English inspect, spectator, etc).
=> espionage, expect, inspect, special, spectator
spy (v.): mid-13c., "to watch stealthily," from Old French espiier "observe, watch closely, spy on, find out," probably from Frankish *spehon or some other Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *spehon- (cognates: Old High German *spehon "to look out for, scout, spy," German spähen "to spy," Middle Dutch spien), the Germanic survivals of the productive PIE root *spek- "to look, observe" (see scope (n.1)). Old English had spyrian "make a track, go, pursue; ask about, investigate," also a noun spyrigend "investigator, inquirer." Italian spiare, Spanish espiar also are Germanic loan-words. Meaning "to catch sight of" is from c. 1300. Children's game I spy so called by 1946.
spy (n.): mid-13c., "one who spies on another," from Old French espie "spy, look-out, scout" (Modern French épie), probably from a Germanic source related to spy (v.).

spy..........私派........... 间谍

1. He was jailed for five years as an alleged British spy.: 他被指控为英国间谍，入狱关押了5年。

3. The spy returned to deliver a second batch of classified documents.: 那名间谍返回来递送第二批机密文件。

4. "She thinks you're a spy," Scott said matter-of-factly.: “她认为你是间谍，”斯科特面不改色地说。