Why Spy?

During my years in US Army intelligence, I had the bright idea of writing a spy novel. Half the people I worked with thought of the same idea. Some even tried to write drafts. But very few finished, and to my knowledge, even fewer got published. As a long-time student of history, I wanted to create a historical portrait, not just craft a spy story. 

Until recently, few Americans knew that, besides being the top soldier during the Glorious Cause, George Washington was also the country's leading spymaster. However, we in Army Intelligence were aware of his secret role. So, when I decided to start writing my spy novel(s), I chose to blend spy themes with fictional versions of James Bond set against the American Revolution. 

The Yankee Doodle Spies series celebrates—tales of men and women who fought the secret war—gathering intelligence to give Washington an edge over the mighty British land and sea forces.

George Washington was the great case officer
of his day

Origins of the Term, Spy

Words have meaning. So let’s examine the word, Spy – the key term in this series. Where does it originate from, and what does it mean? According to one source, the word comes from Old French and other European languages.

Benjamin Tallmadge coordinated
Washington's spies

A Noun

The word 'Spy,' as a noun, dates back to the mid-13th century and originally meant "one who spies on another." This comes from the Old French word 'Espie,' meaning a "spy, look-out, or scout." In Middle English, 'spy' derived from the shortening of the Old French word 'Espie,' which included 'espying,' 'espier,' and 'espy.' The Old French term itself has Germanic roots, originating from an Indo-European root shared by the Latin word 'specere,' which means to behold or look.

Old French was connected to Latin

A Verb

To spy, the verb has the same mid-13th century origin and meant to watch secretly. This originated from the Old French verb espier, which meant "observe, watch closely, spy on, or find out," likely from the Frankish spehon or another Germanic source. The term spehon appears in Proto-Germanic and Old High German, where it also meant "to look out for or scout." Old English had the verb spyrian, meaning "to make a track, go, pursue; ask about, investigate." The related noun was spyrigend, meaning "investigator, inquirer."

Old High German was connected to Frankish and Old French

The Italian verb, spiare, and Spanish espiar also derive from the Germanic root from around 1300 and similarly mean "to catch sight of.” The term evolved into the modern German verb, spähen, meaning "to spy." The word further developed in Middle Dutch to become Spien.

One of many iterations of the Army
Special Agent's Badge 

Interestingly, as I worked with German counterintelligence during the Cold War, I noted that their modern term for a spy is 'Spion,' and espionage is 'Spionage.' The root of the words and their basic sounds remain unchanged. However, pay attention to some other action descriptors in the etymology, such as observe, watch closely, find out, look out, ask about, and so on.

A Curious 18th Century Use

We can see that the term, “to spy,” means learning through observation and, of course, reporting. Now, done clandestinely during wartime, it aligns more closely with the modern definition. However, the term spy once had another use - related to observing and gathering information to report on it. So, it’s not a big leap to connect this terminology to another meaning for the word, “Spy."

"Spy" used a journal

In the 18th century, the term “Spy” was used as the name for major periodicals in colonial and post-colonial America. These publications played a significant role in shaping colonial thought during the struggle for independence before the actual war. We will discuss this in more detail in an upcoming post.