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.

• enPR: ʹsĭv-əl IPA^(key): /ˈsɪv.əl/

• Audio (US):

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• Rhymes: -ɪvəl

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], “Canto XXI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, 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.

• civic
• civilization

• → Japanese: シビル (shibiru)

• “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.

• clivi

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

civil (epicene, plural civiles)

1. civil, civilian

• "civil" in Diccionariu de la Llingua Asturiana

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

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

civil m or f (masculine and feminine plural civils)

1. civil

   Antonym: incivil

2. civilian

   Antonym: militar

• civilitat

civil m or f by sense (plural civils)

1. a member of the guàrdia civil

civil m (plural civils)

1. (colloquial) a preserved sardine

   Synonym: arengada

• “civil”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

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 anim

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

   Synonym: civilista

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

• Audio:

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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
• → German: zivil, civil (obsolete)
  • → Hungarian: civil

civil m (plural civils, feminine civile)

1. civilian

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

Learned borrowing from Latin cīvīlis.

civil m or f (plural civís)

1. civil, civilian

• guerra civil
• unión civil

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

Borrowed from German Zivil, from Latin cīvīlis (“relating to a citizen”), from cīvis (“citizen”).^[1]

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

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

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)

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

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.

• Audio (Languedoc):

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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)

   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.

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 Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “civil”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2025
• “civil” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “civil”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “civil”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “civil”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

• 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.

cìvīl m anim (Cyrillic spelling цѝвӣл)

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

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

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

• Audio (Latin America):

  (file)

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

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

1. civil (all senses)

• → Tagalog: sibil

• “civil”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

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

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

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