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Etymology and origin of the French word civil

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1290
Borrowed from
Latin civilis
Ultimate origin
Latin cīvis
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin civis
Latin civilis
French civil
Italian civile
From the same root
Latin civitas ← civis
English civil ← civilis

Pronunciation

Forms

civil (feminine civile, masculine plural civils, feminine plural civiles)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cīvīlis (“of citizens; civil; courteous”), recorded in French in 1290.[2][3][4][5] The Latin adjective is derived from cīvis (“citizen”), older ceivis, the free member of a city as opposed to hostis (“stranger; enemy”).[3][6] The word belongs to an Indo-European family with Germanic and Balto-Slavic members, such as Old High German hīwo (“husband”) and hīwa (“wife”).[3]

In Latin law the adjective was opposed both to crīminālis and to mīlitāris, and in political philosophy it rendered Ancient Greek πολιτικός (politikós), “social” and “sociable, civilised”, whence the late sense “gentle, affable”.[3][2] Compare Italian civile, Occitan civil and Spanish civil.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record (1290) is legal: cause civile, a civil as opposed to a criminal case;[2][3] droit civil follows at the end of the 13th century.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From law the adjective spread to what concerns citizens and their relations (1330), in phrases such as mort civile (1330), guerre civile, état civil (1773–1774), liste civile (1791) and année civile.[3][2] It was opposed to military (Académie, 1718) and to religious or ecclesiastical.[3][8] The sense “courteous, well-mannered” (about 1460, Martial d'Auvergne) was common in classical French but has declined in favour of poli and civilisé, despite civilité.[3][2]

The masculine noun un civil (Académie, 1835) is a person who is neither soldier nor cleric, and le civil civilian life, in en civil “in plain clothes” and dans le civil.[3][2] Among its derivatives, civiliser appears in 1568 and civilisation in 1756, coined by Mirabeau.[4]

Timeline

  • 1290 – Cause civile, a civil case.[2]
  • Late 13th century – Droit civil.[2]
  • 1330 – Mort civile, in Guillaume de Digulleville.[2][3]
  • c. 1460 – “Courteous” in Martial d'Auvergne.[2]
  • 1611 – Partie civile in Cotgrave.[2]
  • 1773–1774 – État civil in Beaumarchais.[2]
  • 1835 – The Académie records the noun civil and the opposition to military.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Relating to the body of citizens and their relations: la société civile, guerre civile (war between citizens of one state).[9][10]
  2. (law) Relating to private rights and disputes, as opposed to criminal law: droit civil, partie civile.[9][2]
  3. Not military or not religious: mariage civil.[9][1]
  4. Fixed for the purposes of everyday life: année civile, jour civil.[9]
  5. (literary) Courteous, polite.[9][1]

Noun

  1. A civilian, a person who is not in the army.[10][1]
  2. Le civil: civilian life, in en civil (in plain clothes) and dans le civil.[10][3]
  3. (law) Civil jurisdiction, in au civil.[10]

Word family

  • civilement
  • civiliser
  • civilisation
  • civilisable
  • civilisateur
  • incivil
  • civique
  • cité
  • civilité
  • Latin cīvis

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 723a
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Civil.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/civil. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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