Etymograph

English

civilisation

Civilisation comes from French civilisation ‘civilization’, from Latin cīvis ‘citizen’, 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 CEcīvīlis2‘civic, civil’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcivil3
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentciviliser4‘to civilize’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentcivilisation5‘civilization’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1960civilisation5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin civilis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French civil
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French civiliser
  4. 4 Wiktionary, French civilisation
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English civilisation
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1960, G. Freeman Allen, "Condor"—British Railways' fastest freight train: “From Keighley onwards we had obviously returned to civilisation,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱey-Wiktionary, Latin civilis‘to be lying down’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*keiwisWiktionary, Latin civilis‘society’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEceivisWiktionary, Latin civilis
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcīvisWiktionary, Latin civilis‘citizen’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcīvīlisWiktionary, French civil‘civic, civil’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcivilWiktionary, French civiliser
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentciviliserWiktionary, French civilisation‘to civilize’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentcivilisationWiktionary, English civilisation‘civilization’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1960civilisationWiktionary, English civilisation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1960, G. Freeman Allen, "Condor"—British Railways' fastest freight train: “From Keighley onwards we had obviously returned to civilisation,…”

Linked words

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

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

through Latin ceivis

citadel, civics, civitas, 18 more

through Latin cīvis ‘citizen’

civic, 4 more

through Latin cīvīlis ‘civic, civil’

incivility, 4 more

through French civilisation ‘civilization’

civilization

Today it means

noun UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong, and Commonwealth spelling of civilization.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “civilisation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin civilis, French civil, French civiliser, French civilisation. 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- / civilisation

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