Webster's English Dictionary

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spy

1. spy \'spi-\ vb or spied;  or spy.ing [ME spien, fr. OF espier, of Gmc 
   origin; akin to OHG speho-n)X to spy; akin to L specere to look, look at, 
   species appearance, species, Gk skeptesthai & skopein to watch, look at, 
   consider 1: to watch secretly usu. for hostile purposes : SCOUT  2: to 
   catch sight of : SEE  3: to search or look for intensively  1: to observe 
   or search for something : LOOK  2: to watch secretly as a spy 
2. spy n or spies pl  1: one that spies :  1a: one who keeps secret watch 
   on a person or thing to obtain information  1b: one who acts in a 
   clandestine manner or on false pretenses to obtain in formation in the zone 
   of operations of a belligerent with the intention of communicating it to 
   the hostile party 2: an act of spying