civic English · revision 10584

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1542|origins=la civicus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsɪv.ɪk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|cīvicus|t=of a citizen]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from cīvis, citizen, townsman (see [[city]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Barnhart thinks French civique (1504) unlikely to have played a part, since the first English use is in Udall's translation of Erasmus.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==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.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of a city or municipality is from 1656,^(OED 1989) the 17th century in Hoad.^(Hoad 1986) Of or relating to citizens is first recorded in 1790, in Burke's writings on the French Revolution,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and of citizenship, as opposed to military or church affairs, from 1789.^(OED 1989) ''Civics'', the study of citizenship, is from 1886 in American English, formed on the analogy of ''politics'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) and a ''civic centre'' from 1909.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1542 – civic crown.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1656 – of a city.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1789 – of citizenship.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1790 – of citizens.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1886 – civics.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1909 – civic centre.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or relating to a [[city]], its citizens or citizenship: ''civic duties''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of the local government of a town; [[municipal]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[civically]]

+ * [[anticivic]]

+ * [[civic-minded]]

+ * [[civics]]

+ * [[intercivic]]

+ * [[uncivic]]

+ * [[civic center]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[civil]]

+ * [[city]]

+ * [[citizen]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}