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Chambers (1908)

Spy

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[O. Fr. espier—Old High Ger. spehōn; L. specĕre.]

Original source wording, not an independently verified *SET-U conclusion.

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Spy, spī, n. one sent into an enemy's country or camp to find out their strength, &c.: one who keeps a watch on others: one who secretly conveys information.—v.t. to see: to discover, generally at a distance: to discover by close search: to inspect secretly:—pa.t. and pa.p. spied.—ns. Spy′al=Spial; Spy′-craft, Spy′ism, the art or practice of spying; Spy′glass, a small hand-telescope; Spy′-hole, a peep-hole; Spy′-mon′ey, money paid for secret intelligence. [O. Fr. espier—Old High Ger. spehōn; L. specĕre.]

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  • Historical scholarship from 1908; not current consensus or editorial verification.
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  • Chambers consulted earlier dictionaries including Skeat and the New English Dictionary; overlapping claims are not independent scholarly votes.

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Edition, rights and traceability

Chambers’s Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language
Thomas Davidson (editor)
1908

Public-domain-US ↗ · United States

Publisher marks these historical texts public domain in the USA. Transformed book text excludes Gutenberg branding; source attribution is a bibliographic acknowledgment. No non-US public-domain determination is made.

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