espion

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French *espion (attested only in the verb espionner), from Old French espion, spion (“one assigned to observe or spy”). Alternatively, derived from Old French espie (“spy”), under influence of Italian spione (“spy”).[1] According to another theory, French espion is borrowed from Italian spione.[2] The word is ultimately from Frankish *spehō (“spy”), from Frankish *spehōn (“to look, spy”), from Proto-Germanic *spehōną.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ɛs.pjɔ̃/
  • Audio(file)

Noun

espion m (plural espions, feminine espionne)

  1. (espionage) spy (person who secretly watches)

Derived terms

Descendants
  • → Basque: espioi
  • → German: Spion (or directly from Italian)
  • → Norman: espion
  • → Portuguese: espião
  • → Turkish: ispiyon

References
  1. Jacqueline Picoche, Jean-Claude Rolland, Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris 2009, Dictionnaires Le Robert, →ISBN
  2. Albert Dauzat, Jean Dubois, Henri Mitterand, Nouveau dictionnaire étymologique, Paris, Librairie Larousse, 1964

Further reading

Anagrams

Norman

Etymology

Borrowed from French espion.

Noun

espion m (plural espions)

  1. (Jersey) spy

Synonyms

Occitan

Pronunciation
  • Audio (Béarn)(file)

Noun

espion m (plural espions, feminine espiona, feminine plural espionas)

  1. spy
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.