Where does “espion” come from?

espion (Middle French) comes from Old French espion, from Frankish *spehō, from Frankish spehōn, from Proto-Germanic spehōną, from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- — to see, to look, to observe.

Ancestry of “espion”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchespionspy
2Frankish*spehō—
3Frankishspehōnto spy, watch; to peer, to look, to spy
4Proto-Germanicspehōnąto peer, look, spy
5Proto-Indo-Europeanspeḱ-to see, to look, to observe

Words derived from “espion”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic spehōną →Every word from Frankish spehōn →