civil

pronunciation

How to pronounce civil in British English: UK [ˈsɪvl] word uk audio image

How to pronounce civil in American English: US [ˈsɪvl] word us audio image

Adjective:

applying to ordinary citizens
not rude; marked by satisfactory (or especially minimal) adherence to social usages and sufficient but not noteworthy consideration for others
of or occurring within the state or between or among citizens of the state
of or relating to or befitting citizens as individuals
(of divisions of time) legally recognized in ordinary affairs of life
of or in a condition of social order

Word Origin

civil: civil: [14] Latin cīvis ‘citizen’ had two adjectival derivatives which have passed into English: cīvicus, source of civic [16], and cīvīlis, from which, via Old French, we get civil. Of its derivatives, civility [14] comes from Latin cīvīlitās, but civilize [17] and civilian [14] are French creations.=> civilize, city

civil (adj.): late 14c., "relating to civil law or life; pertaining to the internal affairs of a state," from Old French civil "civil, relating to civil law" (13c.) and directly from Latin civilis "relating to a citizen, relating to public life, befitting a citizen," hence by extension "popular, affable, courteous;" alternative adjectival derivation of civis "townsman" (see city). The sense of "polite" was in classical Latin, from the courteous manners of citizens, as opposed to those of soldiers. But English did not pick up this nuance of the word until late 16c. "Courteous is thus more commonly said of superiors, civil of inferiors, since it implies or suggests the possibility of incivility or rudeness" [OED]. Civil case (as opposed to criminal) is recorded from 1610s. Civil liberty is by 1640s. Civil service is from 1772, originally in reference to the East India Company.

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