From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishvigilvig‧il /ˈvɪdʒəl/ noun [countable, uncountable] 1 WATCHa period of time, especially during the night, when you stay awake in order to pray, remain with someone who is ill, or watch for danger Eva and Paul kept a constant vigil by their daughter’s hospital bedside.2 PROTESTa silent political protest in which people wait outside a building, especially during the nightsilent/candle-lit vigil Two thousand demonstrators held a candle-lit vigil outside the embassy.
Examples from the Corpus
vigil• For Hagerman and others in his family, it was the second time they have endured such a vigil.• A blizzard kept demonstrators away, and a planned church vigil reportedly fizzled for lack of interest.• At the weekend they held a silent vigil in Liverpool.• All the McIlkenny grandchildren are holding candles in support of the vigil for their grandfather.• They will share the vigil for tigers in every bush, and fire in every breath of wind.kept ... vigil• Each night, Brian kept his lonely vigil, doing homework and listening intensely to what was going on behind the door.• As the family kept vigil, the children saw at close quarters the stubborn determination of their stepmother.• All that night again Kalchu kept his vigil.• Miles kept vigil by the door but began to grow tired.• He was always in the cheerful rooms upstairs, where the Sisters kept a constant vigil on premature and very sick children.• A well-loved monument to the devotion of a little terrier who kept vigil on his master's grave for many years.• Time lost its familiar context, and uncertainty and foreboding colored those who kept vigil.held ... vigil• Canon Oates held another vigil to mark John's five hundredth day in August.• Outside, 100 opponents of the death penalty held a silent vigil, and a handful of its supporters jeered.• At the weekend they held a silent vigil in Liverpool.Origin vigil (1200-1300) Old French vigile, from Latin vigilia “staying awake, keeping watch”, from vigil “awake” 