Espionage

Definition: Espionage

Espionage

Noun

1. The systematic use of spies to get military or political secrets.

Date "espionage" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1380. (references)

Etymology: Espionage \Es"pi*o*nage\, noun. [French expression espionnage, from espionner to spy, from espion spy, Old French espie. See Espy.]. (Websters 1913)

Synonym: Espionage

Synonym: Spying. (additional references)

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Synonyms within Context: Espionage

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Inquiry	Reconnoitering, reconnaissance; prying; Verb: espionage, espionnage; domiciliary visit, peep behind the curtain; lantern of Diogenes.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: Espionage

English words defined with "espionage": counterintelligence, counterspy ♦ David John Moore Cornwell, dishonorable discharge ♦ espionage agent, espionage network ♦ fifth column ♦ infiltrator, intelligence agent, intelligence officer ♦ John le Carre ♦ le Carre ♦ mole ♦ operative ♦ secret agent, security, security intelligence, security measures, spy ♦ tradecraft, Trojan horse. (references)

Specialty definitions using "espionage": computer espionage, counter-espionage, COUNTERINTELLIGENCE AGENT ♦ industrial espionage ♦ military espionage, military espionage against a foreign state ♦ political espionage. (references)

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Modern Usage: Espionage

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	We're not gonna be doing espionage or anything. (The American President; writing credit: Aaron Sorkin.)
Movie/TV Titles	Espionage (1963) Security: Espionage (1958) Espionage Agent (1939) Lilli Xene and Tanya Fox's Espionage Interrogation (1993)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Espionage

Domain	Title
Books	CIA, Inc: Espionage & the Craft of Business Intelligence (reference) Secret War in Shanghai : An Untold Story of Espionage, Intrigue, and Treason in World War II (reference) Spies in the Vatican: Espionage & Intrigue from Napoleon to the Holocaust (reference) Spycraft Espionage Handbook (reference) The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage (reference) (more book examples)

Theater & Movies	Declassified - The Inside Story of American Espionage Agencies (reference) Spies-Dirty Game of Espionage (reference) Vol. 2-Wartime Espionage (reference) (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music	Adventures In Espionage (reference) Music of Espionage (reference) (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

High Tech	Industrial Spy: Operation Espionage (reference) (more camera examples; more video game examples; more computer examples; more electronic examples; more software examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Espionage

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Non-Fiction Usage: Espionage

Subject	Topic	Quote
Business		The increase in intellectual espionage and the presence of hackers are also forcing users to install or upgrade their information security systems. (references)
		Security experts in the information age have to battle a multitude of problems � ranging from credit-card fraud and hackers to industrial espionage and computer viruses. (references)
		Other operators in the security sector include private investigation agencies that provide assistance to Italian firms seeking to prevent and fight instances of fraud, trademark infringement and industrial espionage. (references)
Civil Liberties	Iran	The charges centered on alleged acts of espionage on behalf of Israel, an offense punishable by death. (references)
	Argentina	El Liberal also reported "political persecution and espionage by the provincial government" to the press association ADEPA. (references)
	Russia	In a positive development, a court upheld a libel suit by former military reporter Aleksandr Nikitin against a newspaper that accused him of espionage. (references)
Economic History	Russia	There are indications that the law is becoming an increasingly important tool for those seeking to protect human rights; after a lengthy trial and eight separate indictments, environmental whistleblower Alexander Nikitin was acquitted of espionage charges relating to publication of material exposing hazards posed by the Russian Navy's aging nuclear fleet earlier this year. (references)
Human Rights	Cuba	Sanchez was arrested in August 1992 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage. (references)
	Peru	In cases of terrorism, drug trafficking, or espionage, arraignment must take place within 30 days. (references)
Political Economy	Singapore	The Government continues to rely on preventive detention to deal with espionage, terrorism, organized crime, and narcotics. (references)
	Sudan	After approximately 6 weeks of detention, the Government charged the NDA representatives with a number of capital crimes, including treason, espionage, and sedition. (references)
	Russia	A series of so-called espionage cases continued during the year and raised concerns regarding the lack of due process and the influence of security services in court cases. (references)
Worker Rights	China	Although he was thought to be scheduled for release in May (6 years from the time of his initial detention), the Government told foreign officials in February that he would not be released until January 2002. The Government confirmed that Chadrel Rinpoche was being held in a Sichuan prison and that he was in "good health." Ngawang Choephel, a Tibetan ethnomusicologist sentenced in 1996 to 18 years in prison on charges of espionage, was incarcerated in a facility near Chengdu in Sichuan Province throughout the year. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Speeches: Espionage

Speaker	Term	Phrase(s)
Ronald Reagan	1981-1989	Yet the threat from Soviet forces, conventional and strategic, from the Soviet drive for domination, from the increase in espionage and state terror remains great.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Usage Frequency: Espionage

"Espionage" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 96.88% of the time. "Espionage" is used about 192 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	96.88%	186	22,556
Lexical Verb (base form)	2.08%	4	175,879
Lexical Verb (infinitive)	0.52%	1	339,140
Noun (proper)	0.52%	1	339,140
Total	100.00%	192	N/A

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expressions: Espionage

Expressions using "espionage": computer espionage ♦ counter espionage ♦ engage in espionage ♦ espionage agent ♦ espionage network ♦ industrial espionage ♦ military espionage ♦ military espionage against a foreign state ♦ political espionage. Additional references.
Hypenated Usage
	Ending with "espionage": counter-espionage.
	Containing "espionage": counter-espionage service.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Espionage

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Expression	Frequency per Day	Expression	Frequency per Day
espionage	195	1996 act economic espionage	3
espionage investigation	36	espionage training	3
industrial espionage	26	espionage game	3
espionage equipment	16	espionage movie	3
espionage act	15	case espionage	3
corporate espionage	12	action espionage tactical	2
cold war espionage	9	espionage camera	2
economic espionage act	9	espionage book	2
espionage act of 1917	8	espionage unlimited	2
economic espionage	6	action espionage gear metal solid tactical	2
act espionage sedition	6	espionage intelligence links	2
modern and espionage	5	electronic espionage	2
action action activism activist against anarchist animal anti anti anti arson blockade bombing boycott change climate drug engineering espionage extremism extremist forestry fundamentalist genetic globalization globalization green hijack hostage human islamic left nuclear peace peace picket protest protest protest radical right right right sabotage separatist terrorism terrorist traffick war wing wing	5	espionage tactical	2
history of espionage	5	espionage story	2
ambler author eric espionage	4	2 espionage war world	2
espionage war	4	air base dark espionage perfect	2
espionage technique	4	espionage fiction	2
spy espionage	4	computer espionage	2
espionage store.com	3	espionage law	2
espionage grumman northrop	3
		espionage law	2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Espionage

Language		Translations for "espionage"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		spiunazh. (various references)

Arabic		‏تجسس (eavesdrop, rat, sing, snoop, snooping, spy, spying), ‏جاسوسية. (various references)

Bulgarian		шпионаж, шпиониране (espial). (various references)

Chinese		间谍活动. (various references)

Czech		vyzvìdaèství, špionáž. (various references)

Danish		industrispionage (industrial espionage, industrial spying), computerspionage (computer espionage, spying out of data). (various references)

Dutch		economische spionage (industrial espionage, industrial spying), industriële spionage (industrial espionage, industrial spying), computerspionage (computer espionage, spying out of data), bedrijfsspionage (industrial espionage, industrial spying). (various references)

Farsi		جاسوسی (Intelligence). (various references)

Finnish		vakoilu (spying), urkinta (spying). (various references)

French		espionnage. (various references)

German		spionage (spying). (various references)

Greek		κατασκοπεία (spying). (various references)

Hebrew		ביון (intelligence, interposition), ר�'ול (spying). (various references)

Hungarian		kémrendszer, kémkedés (spying). (various references)

Indonesian		spionase, pengintaian. (various references)

Italian		spionaggio (secret service, spying). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		スパイ行為 . (various references)

Japanese Katakana		スパイ�"うい. (various references)

Korean		간첩행위. (various references)

Manx		peeikearys (inquisitiveness, peeping, prying). (various references)

Norwegian		spionasje. (various references)

Pig Latin		espionageay

Portuguese		espionagem (esplanade). (various references)

Romanian		spionaj (spying). (various references)

Russian		шпионаж. (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		špijunaža. (various references)

Spanish		espionaje (espial, spying). (various references)

Swedish		spioneri, spionage. (various references)

Thai		จารกรรม. (various references)

Turkish		casusluk (cloak-and-dagger, spying). (various references)

Ukranian		шпигунство. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Espionage

Language	Period	Translations
Old French	900-1400	espion. (various references)
Middle French	1400-1600	espionner. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Espionage

Derivations
	Words beginning with "espionage": espionages. (additional references)
	Words ending with "espionage": counterespionage. (additional references)
	Words containing "espionage": counterespionages. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Espionage" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: eespionage, espionge, espionnage, espoinage, esponage, esponiage, seoi-nage, Spionage. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Espionage"

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "espionage" (pronounced e"spēunÄj)
8	e" s p ē u n Ä j	counterespionage.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Espionage

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-e-e-g-i-n-o-p-s"
	-1 letter: epigones, peonages.
	-2 letters: agonies, agonise, apogees, epigean, epigone, epigons, epinaos, genoise, peonage, peonies, pigeons, pingoes, pongees, seeping, senopia, soaping, soignee, spaeing, spinage.
	-3 letters: agenes, agones, apogee, easing, eosine, epigon, genies, genips, genoas, gipons, opines, paeons, peages, peasen, peeing, pengos, peones, pianos, pigeon, pingos, pogies, pongee, ponies, posing, seeing, senega, signee, soigne, sponge.
	-4 letters: aegis.
	Words containing the letters "a-e-e-g-i-n-o-p-s"
	+1 letter: espionages.
	+3 letters: forespeaking, paedogenesis, pathogenesis, renographies, speedboating, venographies.
	+4 letters: eavesdropping, ethnographies, overspreading, planetologies, scenographies, speedboatings, spermatogenic, stenographies, superregional.
	+5 letters: decompensating, hypomagnesemia, magnetospheric, oceanographies, overpersuading, paleomagnetism, paleomagnetist, paleontologies, peregrinations, pneumatologies, splenomegalies, stereographing, supererogation.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.