Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

vĭgĭlĭa, ae, f. (neutr. collat. form vĭgĭ-lĭum, Varr. ap. Non. p. 232, 4) [vigil].

  1. I. Lit.
    1. A. In gen., wakefulness, sleeplessness, a lying awake: ut neque vigilia praecesserit neque ventris resolutio, Cels. 2, 6: corporum robora nocturnā vigiliā minuere, id. 1 init.: cui non sunt auditae Demosthenis vigiliae? Cic. Tusc. 4, 19, 44; id. Par. prooem. § 5.
    2. B. In partic.
      1. 1. Lit., a keeping awake for the security of a place, esp. of a city or camp, a watching, watch, guard (cf.: excubiae, statio): noctu vigilias agere ad aedes sacras, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 43, § 93: vestra tecta custodiis vigiliisque defendite, id. Cat. 2, 12, 26: exercitus stationibus vigiliisque fessus, Liv. 5, 48, 6: vigiles scutum in vigiliam ferre vetuit, to take on guard, id. 44, 33, 8: vigiliarum nocturnarum curam per urbem magistratibus mandavimus, id. 39, 16, 12.
        1. b. Transf.
          1. (α) A watch, i. e. the time of keeping watch by night, among the Romans a fourth part of the night: nox in quattuor vigilias dividitur, quae singulae trium horarum spatio supputantur, Hier. Ep. 140, 8: primā vigiliā capite arma frequentes, Liv. 5, 44, 7; 10, 34, 13; 21, 27, 2: cum puer tuus ad me secundā fere vigiliā venisset, Cic. Fam. 3, 7, 4: de tertiā vigiliā, Caes. B. G. 1, 12: tertiā vigiliā, id. ib. 2, 33; Liv. 9, 44, 10: de quartā vigiliā, Caes. B. G. 1, 40.
          2. (β) The watch, i. e. those standing on guard, watchmen, sentinels: milites disponit, non certis spatiis intermissis sed perpetuis vigiliis stationibusque, Caes. B. C. 1, 21; 2, 19; Cic. Mil. 25, 67; Sall. C. 32, 1; id. J. 45, 2; 100, 4; Liv. 39, 14, 10.
      2. 2. A watching at religious festivals, nightly vigils: Cereris vigiliae, Plaut. Aul. prol. 36; 4, 10, 65.
  2. II. Trop., watchfulness, vigilance (the figure taken from military sentinels; perh. only in the foll. passages; whereas vigilantia is far more freq.): ut vacuum metu populum Romanum nostrā vigiliā et prospicientiā redderemus, Cic. Phil. 7, 7, 19; cf.: quasi in vigiliā quādam consulari ac senatoriā, id. ib. 1, 1, 1: cupio jam vigiliam meam, Brute, tibi tradere: sed ita, ut ne desim constantiae meae, my post, i. e. my office, duty, id. Fam. 11, 24, 1.
    Plur.: cum summis vigiliis aliquid perficere, Just. Inst. prooem. § 1.

vĭgĭlĭum, ii, v. vigilia init.