Etymology and origin of the French word surveillance
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 1768 Éphémérides du Citoyen More words from the 18th century
- Ultimate origin
- Latin vigil
Etymology tree
From the same root
Forms
surveillance f (plural surveillances)[1]
Etymology
It is formed from French surveiller + -ance.[2][1][3] The verb surveiller (1586) is from French veiller with the prefix sur-,[2] and the latter goes back to Latin vigilō (“to stay awake, keep watch”), from vigil (“watchful”).[4][5]
Earliest recorded meaning
The TLFi's first dated record is from 1768, in the Éphémérides du Citoyen, meaning the act of watching over someone or something.[2][6] Bloch and Wartburg give an isolated earlier form from 1633, which the GLLF notes is recorded without a sense,[4][3] and the Petit Robert dates the word to 1663.[7]
Semantic evolution
From the action of keeping watch, the word came to denote the situation of a person who is watched, as in en surveillance (1872).[6] A legal sense, the police supervision of a released convict, is recorded in a law bulletin of 1804,[3] and Littré illustrates it with sous la surveillance de la haute police.[8] The GLLF dates the use with an object, la surveillance de quelqu’un, to the Académie of 1798.[3]
The word was taken into English in 1802 (as a French word from 1799), apparently from the Terror, when surveillance committees were set up in every French municipality in March 1793 to watch suspects.[5]
Timeline
- 1633 – An isolated record of surveillance, with no sense given.[4][3]
- 1768 – First dated use in the sense “act of watching over”, in the Éphémérides du Citoyen.[2]
- 1798 – The Académie records la surveillance de quelqu’un.[3]
- 1802 – English borrows the word.[5]
- 1804 – Used of the legal supervision of a released offender.[3]
- 1872 – En surveillance is used of a person under watch.[6]
Meanings
Noun
- The act of watching over or keeping a close check on someone or something; supervision.[7][2]
- Military or police watch: guard duty, patrols, surveillance of an area.[7]
- Haute surveillance: a special high-security regime in a prison.[7]
- (law) Surveillance légale: judicial custody.[7]
Related words
- veiller
- vigilance
- Latin vigilō
- English surveillance
Usage notes
Littré insists on the pronunciation with a palatal /ʎ/ (“ll mouillées”), not /j/, which is now the usual one.[8][1]
References
- ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
- ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
Cite this entry
“Surveillance.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/surveillance. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.
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