civilisation

Forms

civilisation f (plural civilisations)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French civiliser + -ation.^[2][1][3] civiliser (1568) comes from civil, which is from Latin cīvīlis, from cīvis (“citizen”).^[4][5] Bloch and Wartburg write that the word was created by Mirabeau in 1756, the idea having been expressed until then by police¹.^[4] The TLFi, however, records an earlier legal sense in the Dictionnaire de Trévoux of 1721.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first sense was legal: in 1721 the Dictionnaire de Trévoux defines it as a judgment that turns a criminal case into a civil one.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The legal sense did not last.^[5] In 1757 Mirabeau used the word for what makes people more sociable, writing that religion is le premier ressort de la civilisation (“the first spring of civilization”), and in 1760 for the historical process of social and cultural progress.^[2][5] The plural, for a society marked by its degree of advancement, appears in 1767, but was rare before the 19th century.^[2][5] In 1767 Linguet also used it for the ideal state towards which humanity tends.^[2]

After 1800, through historical events and voyages of discovery, the word took on the sense “the whole of the features of the collective life of a given society”,^[4] dated by the GLLF to 1828 in Guizot.^[6] Today it competes with culture, which is more neutral and relative.^[5] English civilization in the sense “civilized condition” (by 1772) probably comes from the French word.^[7]

Timeline

• 1721 – The Dictionnaire de Trévoux records the legal sense.^[2][5]
• 1732 – The legal sense is recorded again in the Trévoux.^[6][3]
• 1756 – Mirabeau uses the word in L’Ami des hommes.^[4][3]
• 1760 – Mirabeau uses it for the process of social progress.^[2][5]
• 1767 – The plural civilisations appears.^[2][5]
• 1772 – English civilization in the sense “civilized condition” is recorded, probably from French.^[7]
• 1828 – Guizot uses it for the features of a given society.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (rare) The action or process of civilizing a people.^[8][6]
2. La civilisation: the advanced state of material, intellectual and moral life reached by human societies, as opposed to nature or barbarism.^[8][6]
3. Une civilisation: the whole of the social, religious, artistic and technical features shared by a large society or group of societies: la civilisation égyptienne.^[8][6]
4. (law, obsolete) The turning of a criminal case into a civil one.^[2][4]

Word family

• civilisationnel

Related words

• civiliser
• civil
• civilité
• Latin cīvis
• English civilization

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert