private eye

English

Etymology

From private investigator and its abbreviation P.I., through the homophonic term eye in place of "I", and the use of "eye" as a reference to surveillance.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Noun

private eye (plural private eyes)

1. (idiomatic) A private personal detective, employed to gather information about someone.

Synonyms

• private investigator
• PI

Translations

A private personal detective

Czech: soukromé očko n, soukromý detektiv m Finnish: yksityisetsivä (fi) German: Privatdetektiv m, Schnüffler (de) m Swedish: privatdeckare (sv) c