# espiar
## Catalan
### Etymology

From espia +‎ -ar, or from Vulgar Latin *spiāre, from Gothic or Frankish *spehōn, from Proto-Germanic *spehōną (“to see, look”), from Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- (“to look”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [əs.piˈa]
* IPA: (Valencia) [es.piˈaɾ]

### Verb

espiar (first-person singular present espio, first-person singular preterite espií, past participle espiat)
* to spy (act as a spy)

#### Derived terms

* espieta

#### Related terms

* espia

### Further reading

* “espiar” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “espiar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “espiar” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “espiar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Galician
### Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *spiāre, from Gothic or Frankish *spehōn, from Proto-Germanic *spehōną (“to see, look”), from Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- (“to look”).

### Pronunciation

IPA: /es.pi.ˈaɾ/

### Verb

espiar (first-person singular present espío, first-person singular preterite espiei, past participle espiado) espiar (first-person singular present espio, first-person singular preterite espiei, past participle espiado, reintegrationist norm)
* to spy (to act as a spy)
    Synonyms: espreitar, aseitar
* to peek; to peep

#### Conjugation

$^1$Less recommended.

#### Related terms

* espía
* espionaxe

### Further reading

* “espiar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

## Portuguese
### Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *spiāre, from Gothic or Frankish *spehōn, from Proto-Germanic *spehōną (“to see, look”), from Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- (“to look”).

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /is.piˈa(ʁ)/ [is.pɪˈa(h)], (faster pronunciation) /isˈpja(ʁ)/ [isˈpja(h)], /es.piˈa(ʁ)/ [es.pɪˈa(h)], (faster pronunciation) /esˈpja(ʁ)/ [esˈpja(h)]
* (Brazil) IPA: /is.piˈa(ʁ)/ [is.pɪˈa(h)], (faster pronunciation) /isˈpja(ʁ)/ [isˈpja(h)], /es.piˈa(ʁ)/ [es.pɪˈa(h)], (faster pronunciation) /esˈpja(ʁ)/ [esˈpja(h)]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /is.piˈa(ɾ)/ [is.pɪˈa(ɾ)], (faster pronunciation) /isˈpja(ɾ)/, /es.piˈa(ɾ)/ [es.pɪˈa(ɾ)], (faster pronunciation) /esˈpja(ɾ)/
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /iʃ.piˈa(ʁ)/ [iʃ.pɪˈa(χ)], (faster pronunciation) /iʃˈpja(ʁ)/ [iʃˈpja(χ)], /eʃ.piˈa(ʁ)/ [eʃ.pɪˈa(χ)], (faster pronunciation) /eʃˈpja(ʁ)/ [eʃˈpja(χ)]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /es.piˈa(ɻ)/ [es.pɪˈa(ɻ)], (faster pronunciation) /esˈpja(ɻ)/
* (Portugal) IPA: /(i)ʃˈpjaɾ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /(i)ʃˈpjaɾ/
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /(i)ʃˈpja.ɾi/

### Verb

espiar (first-person singular present espio, first-person singular preterite espiei, past participle espiado)
* to spy (to act as a spy)
    Synonym: espreitar
* to peek; to peep

#### Conjugation

$^1$Brazilian Portuguese. $^2$European Portuguese.

#### Derived terms

* espia-maré

#### Related terms

* espia
* espiada
* espião
* espionagem

### Further reading

* “espiar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

## Spanish
### Etymology

From espía +‎ -ar, or from Vulgar Latin *spiāre, from Gothic or Frankish *spehōn, from Proto-Germanic *spehōną (“to see, look”), from Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- (“to look”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /esˈpjaɾ/ [esˈpjaɾ]
* Rhymes: -aɾ
* Syllabification: es‧piar

### Verb

espiar (first-person singular present espío, first-person singular preterite espié, past participle espiado)
* to spy, to spy on (act as a spy)
    Synonyms: avizorar, vacilar

#### Conjugation

$^1$Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language. $^2$Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.
These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

#### Related terms

* espía
* espionaje

#### Further reading

* “espiar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10