civil

Etymology

From Middle English cyvyl, civil, borrowed from Old French civil, from Latin cīvīlis (“relating to a citizen”), from cīvis (“citizen”). Cognate with Old English hīwen (“household”), hīrǣden (“family”). More at hind; hird.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ʹsĭv-əl IPA^(key): /ˈsɪv.əl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪvəl

Adjective

civil (comparative more civil or civiler, superlative most civil or civilest)

1. (not comparable) Having to do with people and government office as opposed to the military or religion.

   She went into civil service because she wanted to help the people.

   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XXI, page 35:

     A third is wroth: ‘Is this an hour
     ⁠For private sorrow’s barren song,
     ⁠When more and more the people throng
     The chairs and thrones of civil power?’

2. (comparable) Behaving in a reasonable or polite manner; avoiding displays of hostility.

   Antonyms: anti-civil, impolite, inconsiderate, noncivil, rude

   It was very civil of him to stop the argument.

   They despise each other, but they are always civil in public.

3. (archaic) In a peaceful and well-ordered state.
   • 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], Act I:

     Herein thou haſt done good ſeruice to thy country:
     VVere all inhumaine ſlaues ſo ſerued as he,
     England would be ciuill, and from all ſuch dealings free.

4. (law) Relating to private relations among citizens, as opposed to criminal matters.

   a civil case

5. Secular.
   • 1680, A Practical Discourse of Regeneration:

     As if our Saviour had said, No man can enter into heaven except he be born again; so as he speaketh not only of notorious Sinners, as Adulterers, Drunkards, Swearers, & c. but of all who are in their natural condition, tho' they live never so unblameably, free from scandalous sins, if they be not born again, their civil Righteousness will do them little good, for they shall never see the Kingdom of God.

   • 2008, Jerald Finney, God Betrayed, →ISBN, page 174:

     The word from which "evil" in Romans 13.4 is translated means "generally opposed to civil goodness or virtue, in a commonwealth, and not to spiritual good, or religion, in the church.

   • 2013, John Calvin, Calvin's Complete Commentary, Volume 7: Acts to Ephesians:

     Some grammarians explain this passage as referring to a civil sanctity, in respect of the children being reckoned legitimate, but in this respect the condition of unbelievers is in no degree worse.

References

• “civil”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• civil in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “civil”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Anagrams

• clivi

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Adjective

civil (epicene, plural civiles)

1. civil, civilian

References

• "civil" in Diccionariu de la Llingua Asturiana

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [siˈβil]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [siˈvil]

Adjective

civil m or f (masculine and feminine plural civils)

1. civil

   Antonym: incivil

2. civilian

   Antonym: militar

Noun

civil m or f by sense (plural civils)

1. a member of the guàrdia civil

Noun

civil m (plural civils)

1. (colloquial) a preserved sardine

   Synonym: arengada

Etymology

From clipping of English civil engineering.

Pronunciation

Noun

civil

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) civil engineering; civil engineer

References

• English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈt͡sɪvɪl]

Noun

civil m anim

1. (informal) civilian (non-military person)

   Synonym: civilista

Further reading

• “civil”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “civil”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /siˈviˀl/

Adjective

civil

1. civil (all senses), civilian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si.vil/
• Homophones: civile, civiles, civils

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

civil (feminine civile, masculine plural civils, feminine plural civiles)

1. civil (war, marriage etc.)
2. (politics) lay
3. civilian
4. (literary) civil, courteous, polite

Noun

civil m (plural civils, feminine civile)

1. civilian

Further reading

• “civil”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin cīvīlis.

Adjective

civil m or f (plural civís)

1. civil, civilian

Further reading

• “civil”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025