Watch

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈwɒt͡ʃ/

Definitions

1. A small timepiece worn on the wrist or carried in a pocket, or the act of observing something carefully
2. A device used for measuring and displaying time while also referring to the action of closely observing an event or activity
3. An instrument designed to keep track of time, which can also mean to keep an eye on a specific occurrence or behaviour

Etymology: The noun and the verb "watch" are not quite the same word at heart. The noun came into Middle English as "wacche" from Old English "wæċċe", meaning a wakeful period or the act of staying awake, and the sense of guarding or keeping vigil grew naturally from that. The verb descends from Old English "wæċċan", meaning to be awake, and it is the same root that gives us "wake" in its sense of rousing from sleep. That kinship is the surprise. To watch was originally to stay awake, to remain unsleeping, and the modern sense of fixing your eyes on something only developed later out of that vigil. Sentries and night guards kept watch because they were not sleeping, and looking carefully at something became the visible form of that wakeful attention. The verb has relatives across the Germanic languages. Dutch "wekken", German "wecken", Swedish "väcka" and Icelandic "vekja" all carry the sense of arousing or waking someone, which confirms the core idea of being roused and alert underlying all these meanings.

Synonyms: observe, monitor, view, scrutinize, gaze

Antonyms: ignore, neglect