English word surveillance comes from French veiller, French surmonter, and later French surveiller (To monitor, to survey, to watch.)
| Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| veiller | French (fr) | (intransitive) To keep guard, keep watch.. (intransitive) To look after, see to ( + à); see to it that ( + à ce que). (intransitive) To stay up, sit up.. (intransitive) To watch over (someone) ( + sur).. (intransitive, Quebec) To go out in the evening, e.g. in parties, clubs, bars.... (transitive) To keep watch over a sick person at night; to do a death wake for. |
| surmonter | French (fr) | (transitive) to overcome, to surmount, to get over. (transitive) to top, to crown (a building, etc.). |
| surveiller | French (fr) | To monitor, to survey, to watch. |
| surveillance | French (fr) | Supervision. Surveillance. |
| surveillance | English (en) | (legal) In criminal law, an investigation process by which police gather evidence about crimes, or suspected crime, through continued observation of persons or places.. (military, espionage) Systematic observation of places and people by visual, aural, electronic, photographic or other means.. Close observation of an individual or group; person or persons under suspicion.. Continuous [...] |