Where does “surveillance” come from?

surveillance (French) comes from French surveiller, from Old French surveillier, from Old French veillier, from Vulgar Latin viglare, from Latin vigilō, from Latin vigil, from Proto-Indo-European weǵ- — lively, awake; strong.

surveillance (French): surveillance; supervision

Definitions

  1. surveillance; supervision

Ancestry of “surveillance”, step by step

surveillance traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via French surveiller

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchsurveillerto monitor, to survey, to watch
2Old Frenchsurveillierto keep watch over
3Old Frenchveillierto be awake
4Vulgar Latinviglare
5Latinvigilōto watch through, spend in watching, do or make while watching
6Latinvigilawake, watching, alert; watchman, guard,...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanweǵ-lively, awake; strong

via French veiller

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FrenchveillerTo stay up, sit up; To keep guard, keep watch; To...
2Middle Frenchveillerto be awake

Words derived from “surveillance

Every word from Proto-Indo-European weǵ-Every word from Latin vigilEvery word from Latin vigilō