vigilanter

Forms

vigilanter (comparative vigilantius, superlative vigilantissimē)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin vigilāns (“watchful”) + -ter,^[2][3] from the present participle of vigilō (“to keep awake, watch”);^[4][5] Köbler traces it to vigil (“awake, watchful”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first recorded use is in Cicero,^[5][6] who uses it of looking after oneself and of governing a province with alert care.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Cicero uses all its degrees: he promises to strive more vigilantly (ēnītar vigilantius), urges that Antony be guarded against more carefully and more vigilantly, and speaks of someone being harassed most vehemently and most vigilantly.^[3][6][7] Ammianus Marcellinus pairs it with fortiter, and Augustine and the jurists of the Digest also use it.^[3][7]

Medieval writers kept it for watchfulness, as Bede does of fighting vices and Peter of Blois of guarding a vineyard.^[8] The Chronicle of Fontenelle uses it for “wisely, prudently”.^[9]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of governing a province.^[3][5]
• c. 390 AD – Ammianus Marcellinus uses it.^[3][5]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses the comparative.^[3][5]
• 1st third of the 8th century AD – Bede urges fighting vices vigilantly.^[8][5]

Meanings

Adverb

1. With alertness, vigilantly, watchfully; with unremitting care.^[2][3][6]
2. (Medieval Latin) Prudently, wisely.^[9]

Related words

• vigilāns
• vigilō
• vigil
• vigilantia

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre