vigil.
An instance of keeping awake during normal sleeping hours, especially to keep watch or pray.
Meaning & usage
An instance of keeping awake during normal sleeping hours, especially to keep watch or pray.
A period of observation or surveillance at any hour.
His dog kept vigil outside the hospital for eight days while he was recovering from an accident.
The eve of a religious festival in which staying awake is part of the ritual devotions.
A quiet demonstration in support of a cause.
The protesters kept vigil outside the conference centre in which the party congress was being held.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English vigile (“a devotional watching”), from Old French vigile, from Latin vigilia (“wakefulness, watch”), from vigil (“awake”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵ- (“to be strong, lively, awake”). Doublet of Wigilia. See also wake and vigor, from the same root.
To participate in a vigil.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English vigile (“a devotional watching”), from Old French vigile, from Latin vigilia (“wakefulness, watch”), from vigil (“awake”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵ- (“to be strong, lively, awake”). Doublet of Wigilia. See also wake and vigor, from the same root.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.