vigil

vigil

See also: Vigil

English

Etymology

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”). See also wake, from the same root.

Related to vigor, and more distantly compare vis and vital, from similar Proto-Indo-European roots and meanings (lively, power, life), via Latin. For use of “live, alive” in sense “watching”, compare qui vive.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɪd͡ʒəl/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪd͡ʒəl

Noun

vigil (plural vigils)

1. An instance of keeping awake during normal sleeping hours, especially to keep watch or pray.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), OCLC 630079698, page 149:

     I saw her head drooped upon her hand; her whole attitude expressing that profound depression, whose lonely vigil wastes the midnight in a gloomy watch, which yet hopes for nothing at its close.

   • 2016, Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad, Fleet (2017), page 165:

     Eventually the body trade grew so reckless that relatives took to holding graveside vigils, lest their loved ones disappear in the night.

2. A period of observation or surveillance at any hour.

   His dog kept vigil outside the hospital for eight days while he was recovering from an accident.

3. The eve of a religious festival in which staying awake is part of the ritual devotions.
4. A quiet demonstration in support of a cause.

   The protesters kept vigil outside the conference centre in which the party congress was being held.

Synonyms

• (watch, especially at night): lookout, look-out, qui vive, watch

Related terms

• vigilance
• vigilant
• vigilation
• vigilous

Translations

keeping awake

Asturian: vixilia (ast) f Bulgarian: бде́ние (bg) n (bdénie) Catalan: vetlla (ca) f, vigília (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 值夜 (zh) (zhíyè) Czech: bdění n Dutch: waak (nl), wake (nl) Finnish: valvominen (fi), valvojaiset (fi) pl; yövartio French: veille (fr) f Galician: vixilia f Georgian: სიფხიზლე (sipxizle), ფხიზლობა (pxizloba) German: Wache (de), Nachtwache (de) f (at night) Greek: αγρυπνία (el) f (agrypnía) Italian: veglia (it) f Japanese: 徹夜 (ja) (てつや, tetsuya), 寝ずの番 (ねずのばん, nezu no ban) Korean: 밤샘 (bamsaem), 밤새움 (bamsae'um) Latin: vigilia f Polish: czuwanie (pl) n Portuguese: vigília (pt) f Romanian: veghe (ro), gardă (ro) Russian: бде́ние (ru) n (bdénije) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: бдје́ње n, бди̏је̄ње n Roman: bdjénje (sh) n, bdȉjēnje n Slovak: bdenie n Spanish: vigilia (es) f Swedish: vaka (sv) c Ukrainian: бдіння n (bdinnja), чування n (čuvannja), неспання n (nespannja)

period of observation or surveillance

Bulgarian: дежурство (bg) n (dežurstvo) Chinese: Mandarin: 警戒 (zh) (jǐngjiè) Czech: hlídka (cs) f, stráž (cs) f Finnish: vartio (fi), vartiovuoro, vahti (fi) Galician: vixilia f German: Wache (de) f Greek: επαγρύπνηση (el) f (epagrýpnisi) Japanese: 見張り (ja) (みはり, mihari), 警戒 (ja) (けいかい, keikai) Latin: vigilia f Plautdietsch: Wacht f Portuguese: vigia (pt) f Romanian: așteptare (ro), observare (ro) Ukrainian: пильнування n (pylʹnuvannja), варта (uk) f (varta)

eve of a religious festival

Chinese: Mandarin: 守夜祈禱／守夜祈祷 (shǒuyè qídǎo) Czech: vigilie (cs) f Finnish: aatto (fi) Galician: vixilia f German: Vigil (de) f, Nachtwache (de) f Greek: ολονυκτία (el) f (olonyktía) Ancient: παννυχίς f (pannukhís) Latin: pervigilium n Maltese: sahra f Portuguese: vigília (pt) f Spanish: vigilia (es) f, víspera (es) f Ukrainian: бдіння n (bdinnja), чування n (čuvannja) Welsh: gwylnos f

quiet demonstration

Arabic: اِعْتِصامٌ‎ m (iʿtiṣāmun) Finnish: hiljainen mielenosoitus French: veillée (fr) f Galician: vixilia f German: Mahnwache (de) f Russian: пикети́рование (ru) n (piketírovanije)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Irish: (please verify) cathais f

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Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *weǵ- (“to be strong, lively, awake”), whence vigeō.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈu̯i.ɡil/, [ˈu̯ɪɡɪɫ̪]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈvi.d͡ʒil/, [ˈviːd͡ʒil]

Adjective

vigil (genitive vigilis); third-declension one-termination adjective

1. awake, watching, alert

Declension

Third-declension one-termination adjective.

Number	Singular			Plural
Case / Gender	Masc./Fem.	Neuter		Masc./Fem.	Neuter
Nominative	vigil			vigilēs	vigilia
Genitive	vigilis			vigilium
Dative	vigilī			vigilibus
Accusative	vigilem	vigil		vigilēs	vigilia
Ablative	vigilī			vigilibus
Vocative	vigil			vigilēs	vigilia

Noun

vigil m (genitive vigilis); third declension

1. watchman, guard, sentinel; constable, fireman; angel
2. (in the plural) the watch, police, constabulary

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	vigil	vigilēs
Genitive	vigilis	vigilum
Dative	vigilī	vigilibus
Accusative	vigilem	vigilēs
Ablative	vigile	vigilibus
Vocative	vigil	vigilēs

Derived terms

• vigilia
• vigilō

Descendants

• French: vigile
• Irish: feighil
• Italian: vigile
• Piedmontese: vìgil
• Portuguese: vígil
• Romanian: vigil, veghe

References

• “vigil”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “vigil”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• vigil in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette