# vigilante
## English
### Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish vigilante (“watchman, guard”), from Latin vigilans. Doublet of vigilant.

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ˌvɪd͡ʒ.ɪˈlæn.ti/, /ˌvɪd͡ʒ.ɪˈlɑːn.teɪ/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (US) IPA: /ˌvɪd͡ʒ.əˈlæn.ti/

### Noun

vigilante (plural vigilantes)
* A member of a vigilance committee. [from 19th c.]
* A person who acts outside of legal authority, often violently, to punish or avenge a crime, right a perceived wrong, etc.
** 2005, Hazel E. Nelson, Cognitive-behavioural therapy with delusions and hallucinations, page 217:For example, a voice accusing a man of being a paedophile might be based on recent TV news programmes about antipaedophile vigilante groups, plus the memory of having been accused of being a pervert by a neighbour, plus fears that he might be a secret paedophile because he enjoyed reading Lolita.
** 2011, Richard Zelade, Lone Star Travel Guide to Central Texas, page 274:Jeptha Billingsley, who was no prize pig himself (he had been arrested for horse theft and assault with intent to murder), was to be taught a lesson, and the vigilantes made him cut down the McLemores.

#### Derived terms

* bond vigilante
* vigilantism
* digilante

#### Translations
### Anagrams

* genitival

## French
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /vi.ʒi.lɑ̃t/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

vigilante
* feminine singular of vigilant

## Italian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin vigilantem.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /vi.d͡ʒiˈlan.te/
* Rhymes: -ante
* Hyphenation: vi‧gi‧làn‧te

### Participle

vigilante (plural vigilanti)
* present participle of vigilare

### Adjective

vigilante (plural vigilanti)
* vigilant, watchful, alert
    Synonyms: vigile, attento

#### Related terms

* vigilanza
* vigilare

### Noun

vigilante m or f by sense (plural vigilanti)
* security guard
* vigilante

### Anagrams

* vigliante

## Latin
### Participle

vigilante
* ablative masculine/feminine/neuter singular of vigilāns

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin vigilantem.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /vi.ʒiˈlɐ̃.t͡ʃi/
* (Brazil) IPA: /vi.ʒiˈlɐ̃.t͡ʃi/
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /vi.ʒiˈlɐ̃.te/
* (Portugal) IPA: /vi.ʒiˈlɐ̃.tɨ/, /vɨ.ʒiˈlɐ̃.tɨ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /vi.ʒiˈlɐ̃.tɨ/, /vɨ.ʒiˈlɐ̃.tɨ/
** (Northern Portugal) IPA: /bi.ʒiˈlɐ̃.tɨ/, /bɨ.ʒiˈlɐ̃.tɨ/
* Hyphenation: vi‧gi‧lan‧te

### Adjective

vigilante m or f (plural vigilantes)
* vigilant; watchful; observant (alert and paying close attention)

#### Derived terms

* vigilantemente

#### Related terms

* vigilância
* vigiar

### Noun

vigilante m or f by sense (plural vigilantes)
* a person whose job is to watch over something; a security guard
    Synonyms: segurança, vigia

### Further reading

* “vigilante”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

## Spanish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bixiˈlante/ [bi.xiˈlãn̪.t̪e]
* Audio (Colombia):(file)
* Rhymes: -ante
* Syllabification: vi‧gi‧lan‧te

### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin vigilantem.

#### Adjective

vigilante m or f (masculine and feminine plural vigilantes)
* watchful, alert, wakeful
    Synonyms: alerta, listo

#### Noun

vigilante m or f by sense (plural vigilantes)
* guard, watchman
    Synonym: guarda

#### Derived terms

* vigilancia
* vigilante de seguridad
* vigilante jurado
* vigilantemente
* vigilar

### Etymology 2

From Argentinian anarchist bakers who named their pastries in a provocative manner as a political statement. These pastries in particular were named after police batons in reference to their straight and tubular shape.

#### Noun

vigilante m (plural vigilantes)
* (Rioplatense) a roll made from puff pastry, similar to a croissant, often topped with quince cheese or pastry cream
    Coordinate term: medialuna

### Etymology 3
#### Noun

vigilante m (plural vigilantes)
* (Argentina) Clipping of postre vigilante. (an Argentinian dessert combining a sweet ingredient (often quince cheese) and cheese)
    Synonyms: queso y dulce, postre Martín Fierro

### Further reading

* “vigilante”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

### References

* ↑ Treon, Rebecca (2 November 2017) The surprising origin of Argentina’s brazen pastry names (in English), BBC, retrieved 16 February 2025

## Tagalog
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English vigilante, from Spanish vigilante, from Latin vigilāns. Doublet of bihilante.

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Tagalog) IPA: /vid͡ʒiˈlante/ [vɪ.d͡ʒɪˈlan̪.t̪ɛ]
** IPA: (more native-sounding) /bid͡ʒiˈlante/ [bɪ.d͡ʒɪˈlan̪.t̪ɛ], (more native-sounding, no yod coalescence) /bidjiˈlante/ [bɪd̪.jɪˈlan̪.t̪ɛ]
* Rhymes: -ante
* Syllabification: vi‧gi‧lan‧te

### Noun

vigilante (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜒᜇ᜔ᜌᜒᜎᜈ᜔ᜆᜒ)
* vigilante
* a person suspected to be involved in extrajudicial killings in the drug war in the Philippines from 2016

#### See also

* salvage

### Further reading

* “vigilante”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018