Where does “surveillance” come from?
Surveillance comes from French surveillance, derived from French surveiller, combining Latin super- (over) and Latin vigilare (to watch), from Proto-Indo-European weǵ- (to be awake or vigilant).
surveillance (English): Close observation of an individual or group;...
Definitions
- Close observation of an individual or group;...
Ancestry of “surveillance”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | surveillance | surveillance; supervision |
| 2 | French | surveiller | to monitor, to survey, to watch |
| 3 | Old French | surveillier | to keep watch over |
| 4 | Old French | veillier | to be awake |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | viglare | — |
| 6 | Latin | vigilō | — |
| 7 | Latin | vigil | awake, watching, alert; watchman, guard,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | weǵ- | lively, awake; strong |
Words derived from “surveillance”