Added 10 October 2026
surveillance
/sɚˈveɪ.ləns/ noun
Latin root: vigilāre Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about surveillance at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Close observation of a person or group (usually by the police).
Origin
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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)