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vigilia

Etymology and origin of the Latin word vigilia

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (vigil)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin vigil
Latin vigilia

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [wɪˈɡɪ.li.a][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [viˈd͡ʒiː.li.a][1]

Forms

vigilia f (genitive vigiliae); first declension[1] A syncopated vigl- appears in an inscription.[2] Varro has a neuter vigilium.[3]

Etymology

It is from Latin vigil (“awake, watchful”) + -ia.[2][1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is Plautus, of keeping watch.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant keeping watch, a guard or patrol; from Caecilius one of the four watches into which the night was divided; from Cicero watchful attention, vigilance, and wakefulness, sleeplessness, as also in Celsus.[2][5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a night watch and the eve of a feast.[6] Medieval Latin used it for a vigil, a night spent in prayer, especially before certain feasts.[7] It survives as Italian veglia and French veille, and English vigil (mid-13th century, “eve of a religious festival”) is from it through Old French.[1][8]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a watch.[2][4]
  • 230/220–168 BC – Caecilius uses it of a division of the night.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of vigilance.[2][4]
  • mid-13th century – English vigil is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Keeping watch; a guard, patrol.[2]
  2. A watch, one of the four divisions of the night.[2]
  3. Vigilance, watchfulness.[2]
  4. Wakefulness, sleeplessness.[2][5]
  5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A vigil, the eve of a feast.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Vigilia.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/vigilia. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·