different between spy vs ratfink
spy
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)
- 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)
- (intransitive) To act as a spy.
- (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.
- 1720, Jonathan Swift, A Letter to a Young Clergyman
- (intransitive) To search narrowly; to scrutinize.
- (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)
- barf (US), vomit, spew
Verb
spy (present tense spyr, simple past spydde, past participle spydd)
- 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)
- (transitive, intransitive) to vomit
- (intransitive, about blowflies) to lay eggs
Derived terms
Noun
spy n (definite singular spyet, uncountable)
- vomit, sick
- (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)
- to throw up, to vomit
Conjugation
Quotations
Synonyms
- kräkas
Related terms
- spya
- spyboll
Anagrams
- pys
spy From the web:
- what spy ninja are you
- what spyro game is cynder in
- what spy stock
- what spy plane was shot down
- what spy means
- what spyware
- what spy ninja are you quiz
- what spyro games are on ps4
ratfink
English
Alternative forms
- rat fink
- rat-fink
Etymology
rat +? fink
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /??ætf??k/
- Hyphenation: rat?fink
Noun
ratfink (plural ratfinks) (Canada, US)
- An informer or spy; a traitor. [from 1960s]
- (also attributive) A dislikable or contemptible person. [from 1960s]
Synonyms
- fink
Translations
Verb
ratfink (third-person singular simple present ratfinks, present participle ratfinking, simple past and past participle ratfinked)
- (transitive) To inform on; to betray. [from 1970s]
References
- John A. Simpson and Edward S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) , “ratfink”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ?ISBN
- “rat fink”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present; “rat-fink”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
ratfink From the web:
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