civilian

English

Etymology

From Old French civilien.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sɪˈvɪljən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

civilian (plural civilians)

1. A person following the pursuits of civil life, especially one who is not an active member of the military, the police, or a belligerent group.

   Three civilians were apprehended by the soldiers and taken away in a military vehicle.

2. (informal) A person who does not belong to a particular group or engage in a particular activity.
3. One skilled in civil law.
   • Jonathan Swift

     Ancient civilians and writers upon government.

4. A student of civil law at a university or college.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of R. Graves to this entry?)

Translations

a person who is not an active or previous member, contributor, or physical supporter of a military armed force

• Bulgarian: цивилен (bg) (civilen) m
• Dutch: burger (nl) m
• Esperanto: civilulo (eo)
• German: Zivilist (de) m, Zivilistin (de) f
• Hebrew: אזרח (ezrakh) m, אזרחית (ezrakhyt) f

• Italian: civile (it) m
• Japanese: 文民 (bunmin)
• Portuguese: civil (pt) m and f
• Serbo-Croatian: cìvīl (sh) m
• Turkish: sivil (tr)

Adjective

civilian

1. That which is not related to the military, police or other uniformed profession

   The three detainees were actually army defectors wearing civilian clothing.

Translations

not related to the military armed forces

• Bulgarian: цивилен (bg) (civilen)
• Dutch: burger-
• French: civil (fr)
• Hebrew: אזרחי (he) (ezrakhí)
• Italian: civile

• Japanese: 市民の (shimin-no)
• Polish: cywilizowany (pl)
• Portuguese: civil (pt)
• Scottish Gaelic: sìobhalta (gd)
• Serbo-Croatian: cìvīlnī (sh)