descry
/dɪˈskrʌɪ
/verb (descries, descrying, descried) [with object] literary
Catch sight of: she descried two figures...
- Venturing further into the meadow, he descried four figures near the other side of the meadow.
- Ostensibly sympathetic to those on the raft, the painting shows the survivors descrying a ship barely visible on the horizon.
- While he clearly indicates productions he considers successful, I would be hard-pressed to descry a pattern among them.
Origin
Middle English: Old French descrier 'publish, proclaim', perhaps confused with obsolete descry 'describe'.