English
civil
Civil comes from Middle English cyvyl, from Old French civil, from Latin cīvīlis ‘relating to a citizen’, from cīvis ‘citizen’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱey-1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcīvis2‘citizen’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcīvīlis2‘relating to a citizen’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400civil2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cyvyl2
- Englishearliest quotation 1593civil2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin civis
- 2 Wiktionary, English civil
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […]: “Herein thou haſt done good ſeruice to thy country:…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱey-Wiktionary, Latin civisreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcīvisWiktionary, English civil‘citizen’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcīvīlisWiktionary, English civil‘relating to a citizen’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400civilWiktionary, English civil
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cyvylWiktionary, English civil
- Englishearliest quotation 1593civilWiktionary, English civil. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […]: “Herein thou haſt done good ſeruice to thy country:…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with civil, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- ‘to settle, be lying down’
through Latin ceivis
through Latin cīvis ‘citizen’
- civic ← cīvicus
58 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
adj Having to do with people and government office as opposed to the military or religion.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “civil”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin civis. 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- / civil