different between spy vs notice

English

Etymology

From Middle English spien, aphetic variant of earlier espien (“to espy”), from Old French espier (“to spy”), from Frankish *speh?n (“to spy”), from Proto-Germanic *speh?n? (“to see, look”), from Proto-Indo-European *spe?- (“to look”). Akin to German spähen (“to spy”), Dutch spieden (“to spy”).

The noun displaced native Old English s??awere (literally “watcher”), which was also the word for "mirror." In this sense, the verb displaced Old English s??awian, which was also the word for "to watch" and became the Modern English word show.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spa?/
• Rhymes: -a?

Noun

spy (plural spies)

1. A person who secretly watches and examines the actions of other individuals or organizations and gathers information on them (usually to gain an advantage).

Synonyms

• intelligencer
• Thesaurus:spy

Translations

Derived terms

• spyess (a female spy)
• spy ring

Verb

spy (third-person singular simple present spies, present participle spying, simple past and past participle spied)

1. (intransitive) To act as a spy.

2. (transitive) To spot; to catch sight of.
   • 1720, Jonathan Swift, A Letter to a Young Clergyman

     One in reading, skipped over all sentences where he spied a note of admiration.
3. (intransitive) To search narrowly; to scrutinize.
4. (transitive) To explore; to see; to view; inspect and examine secretly, as a country.

Translations

Derived terms

• spy on
• spyhop

Related terms

• spyglass
• spyware

See also

• Wikipedia article on spies

Descendants

• ? Japanese: ??? (supai)
• ? Korean: ??? (seupai)

Anagrams

• PYs, SYP, YPs, pys

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse spýja, from Proto-Germanic *sp?wan?, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pty?w- (“to spit, vomit”). Compare Swedish and Danish spy, Icelandic spýja, English spew, Dutch spuwen, German speien.

Noun

spy n (definite singular spyet) (uncountable)

1. barf (US), vomit, spew

Verb

spy (present tense spyr, simple past spydde, past participle spydd)

1. to barf (US), throw up, vomit, spew (also figurative)

Synonyms

• kaste opp

References

• “spy” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse spýja. The noun is derived from the verb.

Verb

spy (present tense spyr, past tense spydde, past participle spydd/spytt, passive infinitive spyast, present participle spyande, imperative spy)

1. (transitive, intransitive) to vomit
2. (intransitive, about blowflies) to lay eggs

Derived terms

Noun

spy n (definite singular spyet, uncountable)

1. vomit, sick
2. (collective) eggs of a blowfly

References

• “spy” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• syp

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse spýja, from Proto-Germanic *sp?wan?, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pty?w- (“to spit, vomit”). Compare Norwegian and Danish spy, Icelandic spýja, English spew, Dutch spuwen, German speien.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spy?/

Verb

spy (present spyr, preterite spydde, supine spytt, imperative spy)

1. to throw up, to vomit

Conjugation

Quotations

Synonyms

• kräkas

Related terms

• spya
• spyboll

Anagrams

• pys

English

Alternative forms

• not. (abbreviation)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French notice, from the Latin notitia.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?n??t?s/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?no?t?s/, [?no???s]
• Hyphenation: no?tice

Noun

notice (countable and uncountable, plural notices)

1. (chiefly uncountable) The act of observing; perception.
   • How ready is envy to mingle with the notices which we take of other persons?

2. (countable) A written or printed announcement.

3. (countable) A formal notification or warning.

5. (chiefly uncountable) Advance notification of termination of employment, given by an employer to an employee or vice versa.

6. (countable) A published critical review of a play or the like.
   • 1989, The New York Times Theater Reviews, 1920- (volume 18, page 167)

     The first-night audience, yes. The first-night reviewers, not exactly. The notices have so far been mixed, only The Financial Times having delivered itself of an unequivocal rave.

7. (uncountable) Prior notification.
8. (dated) Attention; respectful treatment; civility.

Synonyms

• (attention): heed, regard; see also Thesaurus:attention

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

notice (third-person singular simple present notices, present participle noticing, simple past and past participle noticed)

1. (transitive, now rare) To remark upon; to mention. [from 17th c.]
   • 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Penguin 2004, p. 88:

     Numberless are the arguments […] that men have used morally and physically, to degrade the sex. I must notice a few.

2. (transitive) To become aware of; to observe. [from 17th c.]
   • 1991, Gregory Widen, Backdraft

     So you punched out a window for ventilation. Was that before or after you noticed you were standing in a lake of gasoline?

3. (obsolete, transitive) To lavish attention upon; to treat (someone) favourably. [17th–19th c.]
   • 1815, Jane Austen, Emma, vol. I, ch. 3

     She would notice her; she would improve her; she would detach her from her bad acquaintance, and introduce her into good society; she would form her opinions and her manners.

4. (intransitive) To be noticeable; to show. [from 20th c.]
   • 1954, Barbara Comyns, Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead, Dorothy 2010, p. 9:

     The blackness didn't notice so much when she was born; but it's unmistakeable now.

Synonyms

• recognize

Antonyms

• ignore
• neglect

Translations

Anagrams

• conite, ecotin, neotic, noetic

French

Etymology

From Latin notitia

Noun

notice f (plural notices)

1. instruction

   Avez-vous lu la notice avant de monter le meuble?

Further reading

• “notice” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).