Link Centre Dictionary

civil

ci·vil

US/ˈsɪv.əl/ common

adjective

1.

applying to ordinary citizens

  • “civil law”
  • “civil authorities”
Similar
2.

not rude; marked by satisfactory (or especially minimal) adherence to social usages and sufficient but not noteworthy consideration for others

  • “even if he didn”
Synonyms
Antonyms
3.

of or occurring within the state or between or among citizens of the state

  • “civil affairs”
  • “civil strife”
  • “civil disobedience”
  • “civil branches of government”
4.

of or relating to or befitting citizens as individuals

  • “civil rights”
  • “civil liberty”
  • “civic duties”
  • “civic pride”
Synonyms
5.

(of divisions of time) legally recognized in ordinary affairs of life

  • “the civil calendar”
  • “a civil day begins at mean midnight”
Antonyms
6.

of or in a condition of social order

  • “civil peoples”
Similar

Origin

From Middle English cyvyl, civil, borrowed from Old French civil, from Latin cīvīlis (“relating to a citizen”), from cīvis (“citizen”) ultimately from proto-Indo-European *ḱey-. Cognate with Old English hīwen (“household”), hīrǣden (“family”). More at hind; hird. (polite): Compare typologically urbane (<< Latin urbs), courteous (akin to court).

Phrases

  • American civil religion
  • civil action
  • civil aviation
  • civil celebrant
  • civil code
  • civil court
  • civil day
  • civil death

Related words

Word family

Pertaining to

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.