veiller
Pronunciation
Forms
veiller[1] Old French veillier (about 1120), villier (1176–84); veiller from the late 12th century.[2][3]
Etymology
It is inherited from Old French veillier, inherited from Latin vigilō (“to be awake; to be watchful; to tend”), through a contracted Vulgar Latin form.[2][4][1][5] The Latin verb is derived from vigilia (“wakefulness, night watch”), the source of veille, and, from vigil (“awake, watchful”).[4][3] The Petit Robert traces the adjective to vigeō (“to be strong, thrive”), from an Indo-European root meaning “to be strong, alert”, which also gave the Germanic verbs for waking, as in German wachen.[6][7] It is a doublet of the learned vigiler.[1]
Cognate with Romanian veghea, Old Occitan velhar, Catalan vetllar, Spanish velar and Portuguese vigiar.[6][8]
Earliest recorded meaning
In the Oxford Psalter (about 1120) veillier means to be awake, not to sleep during the time meant for sleep.[2][4]
Semantic evolution
In Old French the verb meant especially to stand guard (about 1180) and also to wake up (about 1200).[4] In 1210 it took the sense of staying constantly alert in order to act if needed, the source of veiller à, to see to something.[2][4]
Transitively it meant to keep someone awake (1340), to sit up at night with a dead person (1409) or with a sick person (1465), and, from Montaigne (about 1590), to keep watch over someone or something.[2][6] In France it now means not to go to bed, whereas in Quebec it is used for spending the evening with others (veiller chez des amis).[4][1] In computing it means to put a device in standby mode.[1]
Timeline
- c. 1120 – Veillier “to be awake” in the Oxford Psalter.[2]
- c. 1180 – “To stand guard”.[4]
- 1210 – “To stay alert”, in Foulque de Candie.[2]
- 1409 – To sit up with a dead person.[2]
- 1465 – To sit up with a sick person.[2]
- c. 1590 – Montaigne: to watch over.[2]
- 1690 – Veiller “to spend the evening in company”.[4][9]
Meanings
Verb
- To stay up, stay awake during the time usually given to sleep: veiller jusqu'au jour.[6][1]
- To keep watch, be on guard; to be vigilant: la police veille.[6][1]
- Veiller à: to see to, look after: veiller à ce que….[1][2]
- Veiller sur: to watch over (someone).[1]
- (transitive) To sit up at night with (a sick person); to keep a wake over (a dead person).[1][6]
- (Quebec) To spend the evening out or with friends.[1][4]
- (computing) To put in standby mode.[1]
Word family
- éveiller
- réveiller
- surveiller
- veille
Related words
- vigilant
- vigile
- Latin vigilō
Usage notes
The Grand Robert gives a second veiller, “to spend the evening in company”, a numbered entry of its own, derived from veille (1690); it has aged faster than veillée.[9][4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 435b
- ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
- ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert