surveillance

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English

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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

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.
    • 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter LIV, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. , volume III, London: Henry Colburn, , →OCLC, pages 66–67:
      Lady Anne appeared in a week or two to have greatly recovered her appetite, and she talked much of the benefit derived from her native air, in order to gain which, she constantly drove out in Lord Rotheles's carriages, and appeared to derive comfort from her admiration of his beautiful bays; beyond this Helen could not perceive that her airings were useful, as her cough increased exceedingly, and all the visitants at the castle expressed surprise "that she did not place herself under the surveillance of one or other of the great physicians of the metropolis."
  3. (military, espionage) Systematic observation of places and people by visual, aural, electronic, photographic or other means.
    • 2012 December 14, Simon Jenkins, “We mustn't overreact to North Korea boys' toys”, in The Guardian Weekly‎, volume 188, number 2, page 23:
      The threat of terrorism to the British lies in the overreaction to it of British governments. Each one in turn clicks up the ratchet of surveillance, intrusion and security. Each one diminishes liberty.
    • 2019 January 31, Ian Bogost, quoting Tim Cook, “Apple’s Empty Grandstanding About Privacy”, in The Atlantic‎:
      Cook was making an impassioned plea to end the technology industry’s collection and sale of user data. “This is surveillance,” he continued.
  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

Translations

See also

Dutch

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French surveillance.

Pronunciation

Noun

surveillance f (plural surveillances)

  1. stakeout

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

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