keep vigil

Verb

keep vigil (third-person singular simple present keeps vigil, present participle keeping vigil, simple past and past participle kept vigil)

1. To wait and watch, especially overnight.
   • Sven, for the most part, stayed in the backdrop hovering nervously near the parlor window, where he now kept vigil for newly arriving guests .2013, John E. Rawson, Blind Vigil, page 102
   • We started outside with the fire, then processed into the chapel of the retreat center where we kept vigil for the rest of the night by proclaiming the readings, chanting the psalms, and sitting in prolonged periods of reflective silence.2013, Joe Paprocki, D. Todd Williamson, Great is the Mystery, page 179
2. To observe the deceased overnight.
   • Rafael died this morning, and this afternoon we are going to keep vigil over him.

   Synonyms:

   have a wake