espion

French

Etymology

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 of Germanic origin.

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

Noun

espion m (plural espions, feminine espionne)

  1. spy (person who secretly watches)

Descendants
  • → German: Spion (or directly from Italian)
  • → Norman: espion

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