civil

English Online Dictionary. What means civil‎? What does civil mean?

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/
• 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.
2. (comparable) Behaving in a reasonable or polite manner; avoiding displays of hostility.

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

3. (archaic) In a peaceful and well-ordered state.
4. (law) Relating to private relations among citizens, as opposed to criminal matters.

5. Secular.

Derived terms

Related terms

• civic
• civilization

Descendants

• → Japanese: シビル (shibiru)

Translations

References

• “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.

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

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 [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April

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): [ˈt͡sɪvɪl]

Noun

civil m anim

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

   Synonym: civilista

Declension

Related terms

Further reading

• “civil”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “civil”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /siˈviˀl/

Adjective

civil

1. civil (all senses), civilian

Inflection

Derived terms

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cīvīlis.

Pronunciation

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

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

Noun

civil m (plural civils, feminine civile)

1. civilian

Further reading

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

Galician

Etymology

Learned borrowing 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 (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

Hungarian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈt͡sivil]
• 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 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).

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

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 (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

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

Descendants

• → Tagalog: sibil

Further reading

• “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], 2024 December 10

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

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)