surveillance

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The careful watching of a person, group, or place, especially to prevent or detect crime.

   The suspect was kept under police surveillance for weeks.

2. 2
   noun

   The ongoing monitoring of something, such as the spread of a disease.

   Health authorities increased surveillance during the outbreak.

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.

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