Etymology Explorer › Italian

Where does “spiare” come from?

spiare (Italian) comes from Vulgar Latin spiare, from Frankish spehōn, from Proto-Germanic spehōną, from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- — to see, to look, to observe.

spiare (Italian): to spy on, peep, peek, observe; to gauge, try to...

Definitions

  1. to spy on, peep, peek, observe; to gauge, try to...

Ancestry of “spiare”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vulgar Latinspiarepresent active infinitive of *spiō
2Frankishspehōnto spy, watch; to peer, to look, to spy
3Proto-Germanicspehōnąto peer, look, spy
4Proto-Indo-Europeanspeḱ-to see, to look, to observe

Words derived from “spiare”

  • espionage
  • counterespionage
  • antiespionage
  • cyberespionage
  • espiocrat
  • counter-espionage
  • microspia
  • spioncello
  • spia
  • spione
  • radiospia
  • spiare
  • cyberspione
  • espion
  • шпион
  • espionner
  • espionnage
  • contrespionnage
  • espion
  • cyberespionnage
  • spionieren
  • Spion
  • espião
  • spion
Every word from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- →