different between behold vs spy
behold
English
Etymology
From Middle English beholden, from Old English behealdan (“to hold, have, occupy, possess, guard, preserve, contain, belong, keep, observe, consider, behold, look at, gaze on, see, signify, avail, effect, take care, beware, be cautious, restrain, act, behave”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihaldan? (“to hold with, keep”), equivalent to be- +? hold. Cognate with Saterland Frisian behoolde (“to keep”), Dutch behouden (“to keep, restrain, preserve”), German behalten (“to keep, restrain, remember”), Danish and Norwegian beholde (“to keep”) and Swedish behålla (“to keep”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /b??h??ld/
- (General American) IPA(key): /b??ho?ld/
Verb
behold (third-person singular simple present beholds, present participle beholding, simple past beheld, past participle beheld or (rare) beholden)
- (transitive) To see or look at, esp. appreciatively; to descry, look upon.
- 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Supplemental Nights to the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 532:
- […] Alaeddin ate and drank and was cheered and after he had rested and had recovered spirits he cried, "Ah, O my mother, I have a sore grievance against thee for leaving me to that accursed wight who strave to compass my destruction and designed to take my life. Know that I beheld Death with mine own eyes at the hand of this damned wretch, whom thou didst certify to be my uncle; […]
- 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Supplemental Nights to the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 532:
- (intransitive) To look.
- (transitive) To contemplate.
Usage notes
Rarely used in informal speech. The past participle beholden now has a meaning detached from the other forms of the word.
Synonyms
- See Thesaurus:look
Derived terms
- beholder
- eye of the beholder
Translations
Interjection
behold
- look, a call of attention to something
- lo!
Synonyms
- See Thesaurus:lo
Translations
References
- behold in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- behold in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
Danish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [b?e?h?l?]
Etymology 1
From Middle Low German beholt, behalt, from the verb beholden; see also Danish beholde.
Noun
behold c (uninflected)
- (archaic) haven, refuge
- in the phrases i behold (“intact”) and i god behold (“safe”)
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the main entry.
Verb
behold
- imperative of beholde
Norwegian Bokmål
Verb
behold
- imperative of beholde
behold From the web:
- what behold means
- what holds atoms together
- what holds the nucleus together
- what holds atoms together in a molecule
- what holds bones together
- what holds sister chromatids together
- what holds base pairs together
- what holds ionic compounds together
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
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