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vigilante
4 dictionary results for: Vigilante
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
vig·i·lan·te 
[vij-uh-lan-tee] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[vij-uh-lan-tee] Pronunciation Key –noun
–adjective
| 1. | a member of a vigilance committee. |
| 2. | any person who takes the law into his or her own hands, as by avenging a crime. |
| 3. | done violently and summarily, without recourse to lawful procedures: vigilante justice. |
[Origin: 1825–35, Americanism; < Sp: vigilant]
] —Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| vig·i·lan·te
(vĭj'ə-lān'tē) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Spanish, watchman, vigilante, from Latin vigilāns, vigilant-, present participle of vigilāre, to be watchful, from vigil, watchful; see weg- in Indo-European roots.] vig'i·lan'tism (-lān'tĭz-əm), vig'i·lan'te·ism (-tē-ĭz'əm) n. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
vigilante
vigilante
"member of a vigilance committee," 1856, Amer.Eng., from Sp. vigilante, lit. "watchman," from L. vigilantem (see vigilance). Vigilant man in same sense is attested from 1824 in a Missouri context. Vigilance committees kept informal rough order on the frontier or in other places where official authority was imperfect.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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