Espy

Espy - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

ESPY',v.t. [L. specio.]

1. To see at a distance; to have the first sight of a thing remove. Seamen espy land as they approach it.

2. To see or discover something intended to be hid, or in a degree concealed and not very visible; as, to espy a man in a crowd, or a thief in a wood.

3. To discover unexpectedly.

As one of them opened his sack, he espied his money. Gen 42.

4. To inspect narrowly; to examine and make discoveries.

Moses sent me to espy out the land, and I brought him word again. Josh 14.

ESPY', v.i. To look narrowly; to look about; to watch.

Stand by the way and espy. Jer 48.

[This word is often pronounced spy, which see.]

ESPY', n. A spy; a scout.

es-pi':

"Espy" in modern English means "to catch sight of," rather than "to explore secretly." the Revised Version (British and American) therefore retains it in Ge 42:27, "He espied his money" (Hebrew ra'ah, "see"), while in Jos 14:7 "espy out the land" (the King James Version) becomes "spy out the land." the Revised Version (British and American) substitutes "watch" for "espy" in Jer 48:19, and "searched out" for "espied" in Eze 20:6, with a gain in accuracy of rendering

(compare the context).