vigilante

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌvɪdʒɪˈlænti/ (UK); /ˌvɪdʒəˈlænti/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish vigilante (“watchman, vigilant”),^[2][3][4][5] from Latin vigilāns (“watchful”), present participle of vigilāre “to keep watch”,^[2][3][5] from vigil “watchful, awake”.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A member of a vigilance committee (1856, American English).^[6][4][5][3]

Semantic evolution

Vigilance committees kept rough order on the American frontier and in other places where official authority was weak;^[5] a vigilant man is recorded in this sense in Missouri in 1824.^[5] The word was later broadened to anyone who takes law enforcement into their own hands.^[2][3][7] Vigilantism is recorded from 1937.^[6]

Timeline

• 1824 – vigilant man, in the same sense (Missouri).^[5]
• 1856 – a member of a vigilance committee.^[6][4][5][3]
• 1899 – a night watchman.^[6]
• 1937 – vigilantism.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person who takes law enforcement into their own hands, often violently.
2. A member of a vigilance committee.

Adjective

1. Done summarily, without lawful procedure, as in vigilante justice.

Word family

• vigilantism
• vigilanteism

Related words

• vigil
• vigilant
• lynch

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House