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vigilante

 - 3 dictionary results

vig⋅i⋅lan⋅te

  [vij-uh-lan-tee]
Use vigilante in a Sentence
–noun
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.
–adjective
3. done violently and summarily, without recourse to lawful procedures: vigilante justice.
Origin:
1825–35, Americanism; < Sp: vigilant

Related forms:
vig⋅i⋅lan⋅te⋅ism, vig⋅i⋅lan⋅tism  [vij-uh-lan-tiz-uhm, vij-uh-luhn-tiz-uhm] , noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To vigilante
vig·i·lan·te   (vĭj'ə-lān'tē)   
n.  

  1. One who takes or advocates the taking of law enforcement into one's own hands.

  2. A member of a vigilance committee.


[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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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
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