civ|il

civ|il «SIHV uhl», adjective.

1. a) of a citizen or citizens; having to do with citizens: »

The government must protect the civil rights of its citizens. Serving as a juror is one of the civil duties of everybody.

b) of the nature of a citizen: »

a civil man, a civil creature.

2. of or having to do with the government, state, or nation: »

Police departments are civil institutions to help and protect local citizens.

3. occurring among citizens of one community, state, or nation: »

High taxes and corruption in government have been the cause of civil strife in much of man's history.

4. not military, naval, or connected with the church: »

The accused soldier was tried in a civil rather than a military court.

See also civil marriage. (Cf. ↑civil marriage)

5. polite; courteous; behaving in a civilized way (as a citizen should): »

The boy pointed out our road in a civil way. His cool manner this morning was barely civil.

SYNONYM(S): respectful, gracious, affable, urbane. See syn. under polite. (Cf. ↑polite)

6. having to do with the private rights of individuals and with the laws protecting these rights. Civil lawsuits deal with such things as contracts, ownership of property, and payment for personal injury.

7. of citizens in their private capacity; personal; individual: »

Slaves have no civil liberty (Edward W. Lane).

8. befitting or becoming a citizen; reasonable: »

It was civil, in the Roman sense, to mingle in the amusements of the citizens (Charles Merivale).

9. marked by or having the organizations that characterize civilized life; enjoying the benefits of civilization; civilized: »

as in civil, so in barbarous states (Robert Southey).

10. (of divisions of time) legally recognized for ordinary purposes: »

the civil day of 24 hours, the civil year of 365 days.

11. of or in accordance with Roman civil law, or civil law derived from it.

╂[< Latin cīvīlis proper to a citizen < cīvis citizen]