surveillance

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Close observation of an individual or group; person or persons under suspicion.

   The surveillance program includes at least 480 LPRs that scan and record about 16.2 million vehicles per week and stores that data for two years, he wrote in the court filing.

2. 2
   noun

   Continuous monitoring of disease occurrence for example.

   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. 3
   noun

   Systematic observation of places and people by visual, aural, electronic, photographic or other means.

   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.

4. 4
   noun

   close observation of a person or group (usually by the police)

5. 5
   noun

   In criminal law, an investigation process by which police gather evidence about crimes, or suspected crime, through continued observation of persons or places.

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 (“to be watchful”). More at vigilant.