civil

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. Doublet of civic.

• enPR: ʹsĭv-əl IPA^(key): /ˈsɪv.əl/

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• Rhymes: -ɪvəl

civil (comparative more civil, superlative most civil)

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.

2. (comparable) Behaving in a reasonable or polite manner.

   It was very civil of him to stop the argument.

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

3. (archaic) In a peaceful and well-ordered state.
   • 1593, anonymous, 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.

• civic
• civilization

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

• clivi

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

civil (epicene, plural civiles)

1. civil, civilian

• "civil" in Diccionariu de la Llingua Asturiana

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /siˈvil/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /siˈbil/

civil (masculine and feminine plural civils)

1. civil

   Antonym: incivil

2. civilian

   Antonym: militar

• civilitat

civil m or f (plural civils)

1. A member of the guàrdia civil.
2. (colloquial) A preserved sardine.

   Synonym: arengada

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

From clipping of English civil engineering.

civil

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

• English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese

• IPA^(key): [ˈt͡sɪvɪl]

civil m

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

   Synonym: civilista

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

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

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

• IPA^(key): /siˈviˀl/

civil

1. civil (all senses), civilian

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

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

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

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

• civique
• cité

• Turkish: sivil

civil m (plural civils, feminine civile)

1. civilian

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

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

civil m or f (plural civís)

1. civil, civilian

• guerra civil
• unión civil

• "civil" in Real Academia Galega

civil (not comparable)

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

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

civil m

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

• dgèrre civile

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

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

1. civil

• guèrra civila

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

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

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)

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

   Synonym: cívico

   Antonym: militar

3. (law) relating to civil law

   Estudo direito civil. ― I study civil law.

   Synonym: cível

   Antonym: criminal

4. occurring between the inhabitants of the same country

   Guerra civil. ― Civil war.

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

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

   Synonyms: civilizado, cortês, educado, polido

   Antonyms: deseducado, grosseiro, deselegante, feio

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)

• “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, 2003–2023.
• “civil” in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa.
• “civil” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

• țivil (archaic and popular)

Borrowed from French civil, Latin cīvīlis.

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

1. civil

civil m (plural civili)

1. civilian

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

cìvīl m (Cyrillic spelling цѝвӣл)

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

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

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /θiˈbil/ [θiˈβ̞il]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /siˈbil/ [siˈβ̞il]

• Audio (Latin America)

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• Rhymes: -il
• Syllabification: ci‧vil
• Homophone: (Latin America) sibil

civil (plural civiles, superlative civilísimo)

1. civil (all senses)

• “civil”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

civil

1. civil; having to do with people and organizations outside military or police, sometimes also outside of other team-based activities, such as a professional sports team