# civilization

Pronunciation: US say "siv-uh-luh-ZAY-shuhn" /ˌsɪv.ə.ləˈzeɪ.ʃən/; UK say "siv-i-ly-ZAY-shuhn" /ˌsɪv.ɪ.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/; AUS say "siv-uh-ly-ZAY-shuhn" /ˌsɪv.ə.lɑeˈzæɪ.ʃən/

## Noun

1. An organized way of life shared across many communities, often a whole nation or people, or a particular social, political, or technical system or stage of development.
   - Simple: An organized way of life shared by many people, with cities, rules, writing, and trade.
   - _Mesopotamian civilization developed irrigation, written law, and dense urban centers._
   - _Trade routes spread ideas and technologies between centers of civilization across the ancient world._
2. Human society in general, especially organized civil society.
   - Simple: People living together in an organized society, with its rules, comforts, and services.
   - _After three weeks in the backcountry, the hikers welcomed the return to civilization._
   - _Some writers worry that prolonged war could unravel civilization itself._
3. The condition of being civilized in manners and way of life.
   - Simple: A polite, orderly, and developed way of living and behaving.
   - _Her tact and restraint lent an air of civilization to the heated negotiations._
   - _Victorian critics measured a nation's civilization by its arts and public institutions._
4. The act or process of civilizing a people, or of becoming civilized.
   - Simple: The process by which people come to live in a more organized and settled way.
   - _Roman officials presented the conquest of Gaul as the civilization of an untamed frontier._
   - _Reformers believed education, not force, was the surest path to the civilization of the colonies._

## Noun

5. The act of converting a criminal proceeding into a civil one. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The act of turning a criminal court case into a private case between people.
   - _Defense counsel moved for the civilization of the proceedings, preferring damages to the gallows._
   - _The parties sought civilization of the suit so the dispute could be resolved by private settlement._

## Origin

Borrowed from French "civilisation", equivalent to "civilize" plus "-ation" (or "civil" plus "-ization").

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