spying
English edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
Verb edit
spying
- present participle and gerund of spy
Etymology 2 edit
Inherited from Middle English spyinge, spiyng, spyeng, equivalent to spy + -ing.
Noun edit
spying (countable and uncountable, plural spyings)
- espionage; the act of secretly gathering information
- 1980, Amélie Rorty, Explaining Emotions, page 472:
- There are two ways in which the obsessive character of jealousy tends to exert itself: one is in the need to know, the endless tests and investigations and spyings that are so characteristic of jealousy.
Translations edit
espionage — see espionage