Vigil, Vigilant and Reveille Share a Root
A vigil is a period of staying awake to watch or pray. The Latin verb behind it means to be awake.
A vigil is a period of staying awake to watch, pray or keep company. Latin *vigil* meant awake or watchful, from *vigere*, to be lively — and it produced a wide family: *vigilant*, *vigilante*, *surveillance* through French, and *reveille*, the morning bugle call, which is French for wake up again. In the church calendar a vigil is the eve of a feast day, when watch was kept through the night before it.
- A watchful wakefulness. *A candlelit vigil.*
- The eve of a feast. *The vigil of Christmas.*
- Vigilant — watchful. *Stay vigilant.*
- Reveille — the wake-up call. *Reveille.*
- Latin — *vigil*, awake. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | vigil | A vigil. |
| Plural | vigils | Vigils. |
| Adjective | vigilant | Vigilant. |
| Noun | vigilance | Vigilance. |
| Related | vigilante | A vigilante. |
- They held a candlelit vigil.Gathering.
- Remain vigilant at all times.Watchful.
- Reveille means wake up again.Related.
The vigil family
- Vigil — a watch kept while others sleep
- Vigilant — alert and watchful
- Vigilante — one who takes watch and enforcement into their own hands
- Surveillance — watching over, through French
- Reveille — French for wake up again, the morning call
Latin *vigilia*, a watch or wakefulness, from *vigil*, awake, from *vigere*, to be lively.
What is a vigil in the church calendar?
The eve of a feast day, when a watch was traditionally kept through the night before the celebration.
Is reveille related?
Yes, through the same idea of waking. It is French for wake up again, used for the morning bugle call.