Vigilance committee

Vigilance committee
Vigilance Vig"i*lance, n. [L. vigilantia: cf. F. vigilance.] 1. The quality or state of being vigilant; forbearance of sleep; wakefulness. [1913 Webster]

2. Watchfulness in respect of danger; care; caution; circumspection. --Cowper. [1913 Webster]

And flaming ministers to watch and tend Their earthly charge; of these the vigilance I dread. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

3. Guard; watch. [Obs.] ``In at this gate none pass the vigilance here placed.'' --Milton. [1913 Webster]

{Vigilance committee}, a volunteer committee of citizens for the oversight and protection of any interest, esp. one organized for the summary suppression and punishment of crime, as when the processes of law appear inadequate. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • vigilance committee — ☆ vigilance committee n. a group organized outside of legal authority to keep order and punish crime because the usual law enforcement agencies do not exist or are alleged to be inefficient …   English World dictionary

  • Vigilance committee — A vigilance committee, in the 19th century United States, was a group of private citizens who organized themselves for self protection. The committees were established in areas where there was no local law enforcement, or where the local… …   Wikipedia

  • Vigilance committee (trade union) — A vigilance committee is an unofficial grouping within a trade union, formed for the purpose of putting pressure on that union s leadership to pursue alternative policies or to pursue existing policies with increased vigour. Vigilance committees… …   Wikipedia

  • vigilance committee — noun a volunteer committee to maintain order where an efficient legal system does not exist • Hypernyms: ↑committee, ↑citizens committee …   Useful english dictionary

  • vigilance committee — /ˈvɪdʒələns kəˌmɪti/ (say vijuhluhns kuh.mitee) noun 1. a committee of a trade union organised to ensure that award conditions of employment are maintained. 2. Chiefly US an unauthorised committee of citizens organised for the maintenance of… …  

  • vigilance committee — noun Date: 1835 a committee of vigilantes …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • vigilance committee — 1. an unauthorized committee of citizens organized for the maintenance of order and the summary punishment of crime in the absence of regular or efficient courts. 2. Hist. (in the South) an organization of citizens using extralegal means to… …   Universalium

  • vigilance committee — police force composed of volunteers …   English contemporary dictionary

  • vigilance committee — noun US a group of vigilantes …   English new terms dictionary

  • vigilance committee — vig′ilance commit tee n. law an unauthorized group of citizens organized to maintain order and mete out punishment in the absence of a regular court • Etymology: 1825–35, amer …   From formal English to slang

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