civil

See also: 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. Doublet of civic.

Pronunciation

enPR: ʹsĭv-əl IPA^(key): /ˈsɪv.əl/
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -ɪvəl

Adjective

civil (comparative more civil, superlative most civil)

(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.
(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
(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.
(law) Relating to private relations among citizens, as opposed to criminal matters.
a civil case
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

civil action
civil aviation
civil celebrant
civil code
civil court
civil day
civil death
civil defence
civil defense
civil disobedience
civil enforcement officer
civil engineer
civil engineering
civilian
civilist
civility
civil law
civil law notary
civil liberties
civil liberty
civil list
civilly
civil marriage
civil parish
civil partner
civil partnership
civil power
civil procedure
civil registry
civil rightist
civil rights
civil rights movement
civil servant
civil-service
civil service
civil society
civil suit
civil time
civil tongue
civil trial
civil twilight
civil union
civil violation
civil war
civil wrong
civil year
keep a civil tongue
keep a civil tongue in one's head
keep a civil tongue in one's mouth
minor civil division
put a civil tongue in one's head
put a civil tongue in one's mouth

Related terms

civic
civilization

Translations

related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion

Arabic: مَدَنِيّ‎ (madaniyy), أَهْلِيّ‎ (ʾahliyy)
Asturian: civil
Azerbaijani: mülki (az)
Basque: zibil
Belarusian: грамадзя́нскі (hramadzjánski), цыві́льны (cyvílʹny), грама́дзкi (hramádzki)
Breton: keodedel
Bulgarian: гра́ждански (bg) (gráždanski), циви́лен (bg) (civílen)
Catalan: civil (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 民事的 (zh) (mínshì de)
Czech: civilní (cs)
Danish: civil (da)
Dutch: burgerlijk (nl), civiel (nl)
Esperanto: civila
Finnish: kansalais-, siviili-
French: civil (fr)
Galician: civil
German: zivil (de), bürgerlich (de)
Hebrew: אֶזְרָחִי‎ (he) m (ezrakhí)
Hindi: सिविल (hi) (sivil), नागरिक (hi) (nāgrik)
Hungarian: polgári
Indonesian: sipil (id)
Irish: sibhialta
Italian: civile
Japanese: 民事 (ja) (みんじ, minji), 民事上 (みんじじょう, minjijō), 民事的 (みんじてき, minjiteki)
Kazakh: азаматтық (kk) (azamattyq)
Khmer: ស៊ីវិល (siivɨl)
Korean: 민사(民事) (ko) (minsa)
Kyrgyz: жарандык (ky) (jarandık), граждандык (ky) (grajdandık)
Latin: cīvīlis (la)
Latvian: pilsonisks
Macedonian: граѓански (graǵanski)
Malay: sivil
Occitan: civil (oc)
Persian: شهری‎ (fa) (šahri), مدنی‎ (fa) (madani)
Piedmontese: sivil
Polish: cywilny (pl)
Portuguese: civil (pt)
Russian: гражда́нский (ru) (graždánskij), шта́тский (ru) (štátskij), циви́льный (ru) (civílʹnyj)
Scottish Gaelic: catharra, sìobhalta
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: гра̏ђанскӣ, цѝвӣлнӣ
Roman: grȁđanskī (sh), cìvīlnī (sh)
Slovak: civilný
Slovene: civilen
Spanish: civil (es)
Swedish: civil (sv)
Tagalog: bayanhin
Tajik: гражданӣ (graždanī), шаҳрвандӣ (tg) (šahrvandī), маданӣ (tg) (madanī)
Turkish: sivil (tr)
Ukrainian: громадя́нський (hromadjánsʹkyj), шта́тський (štátsʹkyj), циві́льний (uk) (cyvílʹnyj)
Uzbek: grajdan (uz)
Welsh: sifil (cy)

behaving in a reasonable or polite manner

Bulgarian: ве́жлив (bg) (véžliv), учти́в (bg) (učtív)
Catalan: civil (ca)
Czech: civilizovaný, slušný (cs), kulturní (cs), vychovaný
Danish: høflig (da), civiliseret
Dutch: beschaafd (nl), geciviliseerd (nl)
Finnish: kohtelias (fi), asiallinen (fi)
French: civil (fr)
German: zivilisiert (de)
Hebrew: מנומס‎ m (menumás)
Hindi: सिविल (hi) (sivil), मिलनसार (hi) (milansār), सभ्य (hi) (sabhya)
Indonesian: beradab (id)
Irish: sibhialta
Japanese: うやうやしい (ja) (uyauyashī), 礼やか (いややか, iyayaka)
Malay: sivil
Manx: beasagh
Portuguese: civil (pt), civilizado (pt)
Russian: цивилизо́ванный (ru) (civilizóvannyj), воспи́танный (ru) (vospítannyj), культу́рный (ru) (kulʹtúrnyj), ве́жливый (ru) (véžlivyj)
Slovak: civilizovaný, slušný, kultúrny (sk), vychovaný
Spanish: civil (es)
Swedish: civiliserad (sv)

law: related to private relations among citizens, as opposed to criminal matters

Finnish: yksityis-, siviili-
Hebrew: אזרחי‎ (he) m (ezrakhí)
Indonesian: perdata (id)
Polish: cywilny (pl)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Ido: ^{(please verify)} civila (io)
Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} civil
Italian: ^{(please verify)} civile (it)

References

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

Anagrams

clivi

Asturian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Adjective

civil (epicene, plural civiles)

civil, civilian

Derived terms

civilización
guerra civil
xunión civil

References

"civil" in Diccionariu de la Llingua Asturiana

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Pronunciation

(Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /siˈvil/

(Central) IPA^(key): /siˈbil/

Adjective

civil (masculine and feminine plural civils)

civil
Antonym: incivil
civilian
Antonym: militar

Derived terms

civilització
civilitzar
civilment
guerra civil
unió civil

Related terms

civilitat

Noun

civil m or f (plural civils)

A member of the guàrdia civil.
(colloquial) A preserved sardine.
Synonym: arengada

Chinese

Etymology

From clipping of English civil engineering.

Pronunciation

Cantonese (Jyutping): si¹ fou²

Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: si¹ fou²
  - Yale: sī fóu
  - Cantonese Pinyin: si¹ fou²
  - Guangdong Romanization: xi¹ fou²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /siː⁵⁵ fou̯³⁵/

Noun

civil

(Hong Kong Cantonese) civil engineering; civil engineer

References

English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese

Czech

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈt͡sɪvɪl]

Noun

civil m

(informal) civilian (non-military person)
Synonym: civilista

Related terms

civilista
civilizace
civilizační
civilizovaný
civilizovat
civilní

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /siˈviˀl/

Adjective

civil

civil (all senses), civilian

Inflection

Inflection of civil
	Positive	Comparative	Superlative
Common singular	civil	—	—²
Neuter singular	civilt	—	—²
Plural	civile	—	—²
Definite attributive¹	civile	—	—
1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used. 2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Derived terms

civiladministration
civilarbejder
civilbefolkning
civilcourage
civildommer
civiletat
civilforsvar
civilforsvarsleder
civilgarde
civilgardist
civilhortonom
civilingeniør
civilisation
civilisationskritik
civilisationssygdom
civilisatorisk
civilisere
civiliseret
civilisering
civilist
civilklædt
civilkurage
civilliste
civilperson
civilret
civilretlig
civilretslig
civilsamfund
civilstand
civilundervisning
civiløkonom

French

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)

civil (war, marriage etc.)
(politics) lay
civilian
(literary) civil, courteous, polite

Derived terms

année civile
civilisation
civiliser
civilité
code civil
désobéissance civile
droit civil
état civil
génie civil
guerre civile
mariage civil
pacte civil de solidarité
partenariat civil
service civil
union civile

Related terms

civique
cité

Descendants

Turkish: sivil

Noun

civil m (plural civils, feminine civile)

civilian

Galician

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Adjective

civil m or f (plural civís)

civil, civilian

Derived terms

guerra civil
unión civil

References

"civil" in Real Academia Galega

Interlingua

Adjective

civil (not comparable)

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

(Jersey) polite
(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)

civil

Derived terms

guèrra civila

Portuguese

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /siˈviw/ [siˈviʊ̯]

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /siˈvil/ [siˈviɫ], /sɨˈvil/ [sɨˈviɫ]

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

Adjective

civil m or f (plural civis)

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.
civic (relating to citizens)
Deves cumprir tua obrigação civil. ― You must perform your civic duty.
Synonym: cívico
Antonym: militar
(law) relating to civil law
Estudo direito civil. ― I study civil law.
Synonym: cível
Antonym: criminal
occurring between the inhabitants of the same country
Guerra civil. ― Civil war.
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

Derived terms

casado no civil
casar no civil
guerra civil

Noun

civil m or f by sense (plural civis)

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

Derived terms

cível
civelmente
cívico
civilidade
civilismo
civilista
civilização
civilizar
civilmente
civismo

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)

civil

Declension

Declension of civil

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	civil		civilă	civili	civile
nominative/ accusative	definite	civilul		civila	civilii	civilele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	civil		civile	civili	civile
genitive/ dative	definite	civilului		civilei	civililor	civilelor

Noun

civil m (plural civili)

civilian

Declension

Declension of civil

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) civil	civilul	(niște) civili	civilii
genitive/dative	(unui) civil	civilului	(unor) civili	civililor
vocative	civilule		civililor

Related terms

cetate
civilitate
civiliza
civilizație

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

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

Noun

cìvīl m (Cyrillic spelling цѝвӣл)

civilian (not related to the military armed forces)

Declension

Declension of civil

	singular	plural
nominative	cìvīl	civili
genitive	civíla	civila
dative	civilu	civilima
accusative	civila	civile
vocative	civile	civili
locative	civilu	civilima
instrumental	civilom	civilima

Spanish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Spain) /θiˈbil/ [θiˈβ̞il]
IPA^(key): (Latin America) /siˈbil/ [siˈβ̞il]
Audio (Latin America) (file)
Rhymes: -il
Syllabification: ci‧vil
Homophone: (Latin America) sibil

Adjective

civil (plural civiles, superlative civilísimo)

civil (all senses)

Derived terms

aviación civil
civilizar
civilmente
código civil
de civil
derecho civil
desobediencia civil
estado civil
guardia civil
guerra civil
matrimonio civil
muerte civil
posesión civil
proceso civil
registro civil
servicio civil
sociedad civil
tribunal civil
unión civil

Related terms

ciudad
cívico
civilidad
civilización

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Adjective

civil

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

Declension

Inflection of civil
Indefinite	Positive	Comparative	Superlative²
Common singular	civil	—	—
Neuter singular	civilt	—	—
Plural	civila	—	—
Masculine plural³	civile	—	—
Definite	Positive	Comparative	Superlative
Masculine singular¹	civile	—	—
All	civila	—	—
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine. 2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative. 3) Dated or archaic

civil

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

References

Anagrams

Asturian

Etymology

Adjective

Derived terms

References

Catalan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Derived terms

Related terms

Noun

Further reading

Chinese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

References

Czech

Pronunciation

Noun

Related terms

Further reading

Danish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Inflection

Derived terms

French

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

Noun

Further reading

Galician

Etymology

Adjective

Derived terms

References

Interlingua

Adjective

Norman

Etymology

Adjective

Derived terms

Occitan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Derived terms

Portuguese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Derived terms

Noun

Derived terms

Further reading

Romanian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Adjective

Declension

Noun

Declension

Related terms