civil

English

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.

Derived terms

Related terms

• civic
• civilization

Descendants

• → Japanese: シビル (shibiru)

Translations

References

• chapter CIVIL, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• civil in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• chapter CIVIL, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• clivi

Asturian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Adjective

civil (epicene, plural civiles)

1. civil, civilian

Derived terms

References

• "civil" in Diccionariu de la Llingua Asturiana

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central)
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencian)

Adjective

civil m or f (masculine and feminine plural civils)

1. civil

   Antonym: incivil

2. civilian

   Antonym: militar

Derived terms

Related terms

• civilitat

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

Further reading

• “civil” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Chinese

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

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

civil m anim

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

   Synonym: civilista

Declension

Related terms

Further reading

• civil in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• civil in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Danish

Danish Wikipedia has an article on:

civil

Wikipedia ^da

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /siˈviˀl/

Adjective

civil

1. civil (all senses), civilian

Inflection

Derived terms

French

French Wikipedia has an article on:

civil

Wikipedia ^fr

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

Derived terms

Related terms

• civique
• cité

Descendants

• Turkish: sivil

Noun

civil m (plural civils, feminine civile)

1. civilian

Further reading

• chapter CIVIL, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Galician

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Adjective

civil m or f (plural civís)

1. civil, civilian

Derived terms

• guerra civil
• unión civil

Further reading

• “civil” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

Hungarian

Etymology

Borrowed from German Zivil, from Latin cīvīlis (“relating to a citizen”), from cīvis (“citizen”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: ci‧vil
• Rhymes: -il

Adjective

civil (not comparable)

1. civilian (not related to the military, police or other governmental professions)

   Synonym: polgári

   civil szervezet ― non-governmental organization

   polgárháború ― civil war

Declension

Noun

civil (plural civilek)

1. civilian (a person following the pursuits of civil life, especially one who is not an active member of the armed forces)

Declension

References

Further reading

• civil in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• civil in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2024)

Interlingua

Adjective

civil (not comparable)

1. civil, civilian (not associated with the armed forces)

Norman

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis, from cīvis (“citizen”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- (“to lie down, settle; home, family; love; beloved”).

Adjective

civil m

1. (Jersey) polite
2. (Jersey) civil

Derived terms

• dgèrre civile

Occitan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Languedocien)

  (file)

Adjective

civil m (feminine singular civila, masculine plural civils, feminine plural civilas)

1. civil

Derived terms

• guèrra civila

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis (“civil”), from cīvis (“citizen”). Doublet of cível.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -il, (Brazil) -iw
• Hyphenation: ci‧vil

Adjective

civil m or f (plural civis)

1. civil; civilian (not relating to the military or clergy)

   Se não quiser levar um tiro, use roupas civis. ― If you don’t want to be shot, use civilian clothing.

2. civic (relating to citizens)

   Synonym: cívico

   Antonym: militar

   Deves cumprir tua obrigação civil. ― You must perform your civic duty.

3. (law) relating to civil law

   Synonym: cível

   Antonym: criminal

   Estudo direito civil. ― I study civil law.

4. occurring between the inhabitants of the same country

   Guerra civil. ― Civil war.

5. civil (behaving in a reasonable or polite manner)

   Synonyms: civilizado, cortês, educado, polido

   Antonyms: deseducado, grosseiro, deselegante, feio

   Seja mais civil e pare de criticar as pessoas. ― Be more civil and stop criticising people.

Derived terms

Noun

civil m or f by sense (plural civis)

1. civilian, non-combatant (person who is not a member of the military, police or belligerent group)

Derived terms

Further reading

• “civil” in iDicionário Aulete.
• “civil” in Dicionário inFormal.
• “civil” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “civil” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024.
• “civil” in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa.
• “civil” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Romanian

Alternative forms

• țivil — archaic and popular

Etymology

Borrowed from French civil, Latin cīvīlis.

Adjective

civil m or n (feminine singular civilă, masculine plural civili, feminine and neuter plural civile)

1. civil

Declension

Noun

civil m (plural civili)

1. civilian

Declension

Related terms

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from German Zivil, from French civil, from Latin cīvīlis (“civic, civil”), from cīvis (“citizen”).

Noun

cìvīl m (Cyrillic spelling цѝвӣл)

1. civilian (not related to the military armed forces)

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis (“civil, civic”), from cīvis (“citizen”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /θiˈbil/
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /siˈbil/
• Rhymes: -il
• Syllabification: ci‧vil
• Homophone: (Latin America) sibil

Adjective

civil m or f (masculine and feminine plural civiles, superlative civilísimo)

1. civil (all senses)

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• chapter CIVIL, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Adjective

civil

1. civil, civilian; having to do with people and organizations outside military or police, sometimes also outside religion or team-based activities, such as a professional sports team
2. (nominalized, chiefly in the plural) a civilian

   två civila

   two civilians

Declension

Derived terms

• civilperson (“civilian”)
• civilstånd (“marital status”)

References

• civil in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• civil in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• civil in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)