surveillance

English Online Dictionary. What means surveillance‎? What does surveillance mean?

English

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French surveillance (“a watching over, overseeing, supervision”), from surveiller (“to watch, oversee”), from sur- (“over”) + veiller (“to watch”), from Middle French, from Old French veillier (“to stay awake”), from Latin vigilāre, present active infinitive of vigilō (“I am watchful”). More at vigilant.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /sɚˈveɪ.ləns/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /səˈveɪ.ləns/
• (India) IPA^(key): /səɾˈveː.ljəns/

Noun

surveillance (countable and uncountable, plural surveillances)

1. Close observation of an individual or group; person or persons under suspicion.
2. Continuous monitoring of disease occurrence for example.
3. (military, espionage) Systematic observation of places and people by visual, aural, electronic, photographic or other means.
4. (law) In criminal law, an investigation process by which police gather evidence about crimes, or suspected crime, through continued observation of persons or places.

Derived terms

Related terms

• surveil

Translations

See also

Dutch

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French surveillance.

Pronunciation

Noun

surveillance f (plural surveillances)

1. stakeout

Descendants

• → Indonesian: surveilans

French

Etymology

From surveiller +‎ -ance.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /syʁ.vɛ.jɑ̃s/ ~ /syʁ.ve.jɑ̃s/
• Rhymes: -ɑ̃s

Noun

surveillance f (plural surveillances)

1. surveillance
2. supervision

Descendants

• → Dutch: surveillance
• → English: surveillance

Further reading

• “surveillance”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.