Etymology

surveillance

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Today it means: Close observation of an individual or group; person or persons under suspicion. Full definition →

French surveillance ← Old French surveillier ← Vulgar Latin *viglāre
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úp
  2. Proto-Indo-European*upér
  3. Proto-Italic*super
  4. Latinsuper
  5. Latinsuper-
  6. Old Frenchsur-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*weǵ-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*weǵlis
  9. Proto-Italic*weglis
  10. Latinvigil
  11. Latinvigilō
  12. Latinvigilāre
  13. Vulgar Latin*viglāre
  14. Old Frenchveillier
  15. Old Frenchsurveillier
  16. Frenchsurveiller
  17. Frenchsurveillance
  18. English todaysurveillance

Unadapted borrowing from French surveillance (“a watching over, overseeing, supervision”), from surveiller (“to watch, oversee”), from sur- (“over”) + veiller (“to watch”), from Middle French, from Old French veillier (“to stay awake”), from Latin vigilāre (“to be watchful”). More at vigilant.

Words from the same roots

Latinvigilāre all →

vigia

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.