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civ·il  audio  (svl) KEY 

ADJECTIVE:
  1. Of, relating to, or befitting a citizen or citizens: civil duties.
  2. Of or relating to citizens and their interrelations with one another or with the state: civil society; the civil branches of government.
  3. Of ordinary citizens or ordinary community life as distinguished from the military or the ecclesiastical: civil authorities.
  4. Of or in accordance with organized society; civilized.
  5. Sufficiently observing or befitting accepted social usages; not rude: a civil reply. See Synonyms at polite.
  6. Being in accordance with or denoting legally recognized divisions of time: a civil year.
  7. Law Relating to the rights of private individuals and legal proceedings concerning these rights as distinguished from criminal, military, or international regulations or proceedings.
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Latin cvlis, from cvis, citizen ; see civic

OTHER FORMS:
civil·ly(Adverb)


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