Vigil

The English noun “vigil” means “a devotional watching” or “an act of staying awake”. In the context of the Christian Church, it can refer to “the eve of a festival or holy day”. This word is often used with the verbs such as “keep”, “hold”, and “stand”. For instance, “The vigil is held from 6-7 p.m.”¹.

This word immediately reminds me of another English word “vigilant”, which means “always being careful to notice things, especially possible danger”. Both “vigil” and “vigilant” come from the Latin adjective “vigil”, meaning “awake” or “watching”. This helps us to understand how to use the word vigilant correctly.

The word “surveillant” is also derived from vigil. It is not really obvious in form, but in terms of meaning, it makes perfect sense (“sur-“ (above) + “vigil” (watching)).

The Latin vigil comes from the PIE “*weǵ-“, meaning “to be awake”². This word is also the root of the English words “vigor” and “wake”, which is also totally understandable.