Etymograph

English

civic

Civic comes from Latin cīvicus ‘pertaining to a city or citizens’, from Proto-Italic *keiwis ‘society’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- ‘to be lying down’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱey-1‘to be lying down’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*keiwis1‘society’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEceivis1
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcīvis1‘citizen’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcīvicus2‘pertaining to a city or citizens’
  6. Englishtodaycivic2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin civicus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English civic

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱey-Wiktionary, Latin civicus‘to be lying down’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*keiwisWiktionary, Latin civicus‘society’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEceivisWiktionary, Latin civicus
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcīvisWiktionary, Latin civicus‘citizen’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcīvicusWiktionary, English civic‘pertaining to a city or citizens’
  6. EnglishtodaycivicWiktionary, English civic

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- ‘to be lying down’

home, city, hide, cemetery, coma, haunt, 31 more

through Proto-Italic *keiwis ‘society’

17 more

through Latin ceivis

citadel, 21 more

through Latin cīvis ‘citizen’

civil, 5 more

Today it means

adj Of, relating to, or belonging to a city, a citizen, or citizenship; municipal or civil.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “civic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin civicus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- / civic

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