espy

1. (transitive)Examples: "to espy land    to espy a man in a crowd"; "No wyse man entreth in to a gardein but he sone espiethe good herbes from nettiles, and treadeth the nettiles under his feete whiles he gadreth good herbes."; "For with ſuch puiſſance and impetuous maine / Thoſe Champions broke on them, that forſt the fly, / Like ſcattered Sheepe, whenas the Shepherds ſwaine / A Lyon and a Tigre doth eſpye, / With greedy pace forth ruſhing from the foreſt nye."Synonyms: descry, discern, discover, catch sight of, clock, decern, descry, espytransitive

2. (transitive)Examples: "[…] I chaunced to eſpie thys foraſyde Peter talkynge wyth a certeyne ſtraunger a man well ſtryken in age wyth a blake sonne burned face, a longe bearde and a cloke catſe homely about hys ſhoulders, whom by hys fauour & apparrel forthwythe I iudged to be a maryner."; "Come on my Lords the better foot before, / Straight vvill I bring you to the lothſome pit, / VVhere I eſpied the Panther faſt a ſleepe."; "And as one of them opened his ſacke, to giue his aſſe prouender in the Inne, he eſpied his money: for behold, it was in his ſackes mouth."transitive

3. (transitive)Examples: "Remember the subtyle worldly wyse Counsellours of Hāmon, the sonne of Naas, king of the Amonites, which when Dauid had sent hys seruauntes to comfort the yong kyng, for the death of hys father, by craftye imaginacions counselled Hāmon not alonely not to receiue them gently, but to entreate them most shamefullye and cruellye, sayinge that they came not to comforte hym, but to espye and search hys lande, so that afterward they brynging Dauid woorde howe euerye thynge stoode, Dauid myghte come and conquer it."; "Novv queſtion me no more vve are eſpied, / Here comes a parcell of our hopefull bootie, / VVhich dreads not yet their liues deſtruction."; "Fortie yeeres olde was I when Moſes the ſeruant of the Lord ſent me from Kadeſh Barnea, to eſpie out the land, and I brought him worde againe, as it was in mine heart."obsoletetransitive

4. (transitive)Examples: "If being the Commander of an army, thou eſpieſt a groſſe and manifeſt error in thine Enemy, look vvell to thy ſelfe, for treachery is not farre off: Hee vvhom deſire of victory binds too much, is apt to ſtumble at his ovvne Ruine."; "VVhat faults ſoever Thou eſpieſt here, / Fall to, and make thee merry vvith the Cheer."; "O Moſt and Gracious Father, the ſearcher of all hearts; vvho ſeeſt my dovvn-lying as vvell as up riſing, darkneſs and light being both alike to thee; vvho art near unto all my vvays, and eſpyeſt my thoughts vvhile they are yet afar off, I have here ſet my ſelf before thee to pay my evening homage, […]"obsoletetransitive

5. (intransitive, archaic) To observe as a spy, to spy; also, to examine or observe carefully; or to look out or watch.Examples: "O inhabitant of Aroer, ſtand by the way, and eſpie; aſke him that fleeth, and her that eſcapeth, and ſay, VVhat is done?"; "[H]eedful be his eye, / And firm his step, who on the dark edge [of a peak] stands / Beneath the cloud, and downward dares espy."archaicintransitive