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civic

Etymology and origin of the English word civic

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1542
Borrowed from
Latin civicus
Ultimate origin
Latin (civicus)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin civicus
English civic

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈsɪv.ɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cīvicus (“of a citizen”),[2][3][4] from cīvis, citizen, townsman (see city).[2][3][5] Barnhart thinks French civique (1504) unlikely to have played a part, since the first English use is in Udall's translation of Erasmus.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In civic crown or garland, Latin corōna cīvica, a wreath of oak leaves given to a Roman who saved a fellow citizen's life in battle: 1542.[2][3][6][7]

Semantic evolution

Of a city or municipality is from 1656,[6] the 17th century in Hoad.[4] Of or relating to citizens is first recorded in 1790, in Burke's writings on the French Revolution,[2][6] and of citizenship, as opposed to military or church affairs, from 1789.[6] Civics, the study of citizenship, is from 1886 in American English, formed on the analogy of politics,[2][4] and a civic centre from 1909.[6]

Timeline

  • 1542 – civic crown.[2][6]
  • 1656 – of a city.[6]
  • 1789 – of citizenship.[6]
  • 1790 – of citizens.[2][6]
  • 1886 – civics.[2]
  • 1909 – civic centre.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to a city, its citizens or citizenship: civic duties.
  2. Of the local government of a town; municipal.

Word family

  • civically
  • anticivic
  • civic-minded
  • civics
  • intercivic
  • uncivic
  • civic center

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Civic.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/civic. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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