spying vs vigil

spying and vigil both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
spying	Yes	No	No	No
vigil	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, vigil is a hypernym of spying; that is, vigil is a word with a broader meaning than spying:

Other hypernyms of spying include watch.

spying (noun)	vigil (noun)
the act of keeping a secret watch for intelligence purposes	a purposeful surveillance to guard or observe
keeping a secret or furtive watch	the rite of staying awake for devotional purposes (especially on the eve of a religious festival)
the act of detecting something; catching sight of something	a period of sleeplessness