vigil
vi·gil
noun
a period of sleeplessness
a devotional watch (especially on the eve of a religious festival)
a purposeful surveillance to guard or observe
Origin
From Middle English vigile (“a devotional watching”), from Old French vigile, from Latin vigilia (“wakefulness, watch”), from vigil (“awake”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵ- (“to be strong, lively, awake”). Doublet of Wigilia. See also wake and vigor, from the same root.
Phrases
- candlelight vigil
- coma vigil
- keep vigil
Related words
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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.