# civil

Pronunciation: say "SIV-uhl" /ˈsɪv.əl/

## Adjective

1. Relating to citizens and the offices of government, as opposed to the military or religion.
   - Simple: About the government and ordinary people, not the army or a church.
   - _After the coup, the generals promised a quick return to civil rule._
   - _Control of the airports passed from military to civil authorities last spring._
2. Taking place among groups of citizens of a single country, not between different nations.
   - Simple: Happening between groups of people inside one country, not between countries.
   - _The rival factions slid into civil conflict soon after the election results were announced._
   - _Decades of civil strife had emptied the villages along the border._
3. Relating to legal disputes between private citizens or organizations, as opposed to criminal matters.
   - Simple: About legal cases between people or companies, not about crimes.
   - _The family pursued a civil suit against the driver after the criminal trial ended._
   - _Most civil disputes settle long before they reach a courtroom._
4. Behaving in a reasonable, polite manner, without open displays of hostility.
   - Simple: Polite enough to avoid a fight, even if you are not friendly.
   - _Despite their bitter divorce, they managed to remain civil at family gatherings._
   - _The debate stayed civil until the moderator raised the budget question._
5. Secular; relating to nonreligious institutions or ceremonies rather than those of a church.
   - Simple: Not connected with a church or with religion.
   - _They opted for a civil ceremony at the courthouse rather than a church wedding._
   - _They had a civil ceremony at city hall in the morning and a church wedding with their families in the afternoon._

## Adjective

6. In a peaceful and well-ordered condition, free from disturbance or disorder. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Calm and well ordered, with everyone living peacefully under the law.

## Origin

Latin cīvis ("citizen") gave cīvīlis ("relating to a citizen"), which reached English by way of Old French and Middle English.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/civil (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).