espionage

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɛs.pi.əˌnɑːʒ/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French espionnage (“spying”),^[2][3][4][5] from espionner “to spy”,^[2][3][4][5] from espion “spy”,^[2][3][4][5] from Italian spione,^[2][3][4][5] of Germanic origin,^[2][3][6] akin to Old High German spehōn “to spy”.^[3][4][5] It is related to English spy.^[5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The practice of spying, or of employing spies (1793).^[7][3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its sense since it was borrowed.^[7][2] It is applied both to governments seeking the military and political secrets of other nations and to companies spying on competitors, as in industrial espionage.^[2][3][6] Etymonline notes that Middle English already had espiouress “female spy”.^[5]

Timeline

• 1793 – the practice of spying.^[7][3][4][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act or practice of spying, or of using spies to obtain secret information, especially about a foreign government or a business competitor.

Word family

• counterespionage
• industrial espionage

Related words

• tradecraft
• spy
• espy

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press