An old military term for a listening post or scout position where soldiers gathered intelligence about enemy movements.
From French 'écoute' (listening, from 'écouter' to listen). This term entered English military vocabulary in the 17th-18th centuries when European armies were in close contact with French forces.
An 'ecoute' was literally a soldier whose job was to listen—hide and eavesdrop on enemies to report back. It's the ancestor of modern military reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.
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