civilian
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civilian
- /sɪˈvɪl.jən/
- [sɪˈvɪl.jn̩]
Where it comes from
From Middle English cyvylien, from Old French civilien. Equivalent to civil + -ian.
noun civilians
- A person following the pursuits of civil life, especially one who is not an active member of the armed forces. An army never can be commanded or controlled by civilians.
- A person who does not belong to a particular group or engage in a particular activity, an outsider. I have this vision one day that I'll walk amongst you a regular civilian.
- One skilled in civil law. Ancient civilians and writers upon government.
- A student of civil law at a university or college. although he kept his name in the college books, and changed his commoner gown to that of a civilian, yet he had now, I believe, no thoughts of proceeding to any degree; and seldom resided in college any more
- A person not affiliated with a gang.
- An employee of the civil service.
adjective
- Not related to the military, police or other governmental professions. The three detainees were actually army defectors wearing civilian clothing.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: civil, noncombatant, plainclothes, white-collar, military, city, urban, citizen, home, civic, political, commoner, indemnity, third-party, preparedness, civilized
Translations
Every language
noun non-military person
| Español | civil, paisano |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 민간인 min'ganin |
| 日本語 | 文民 bunmin, 民間人 minkanjin |
| 中文 | 平民 píngmín |
| हिन्दी | नागरिक nāgrik |
| Português | civil |
| Français | civil, civile |
| Deutsch | Zivilist, Zivilistin, Zivilperson |
| Italiano | civile |
| Ελληνικά | πολίτης polítis |
| Română | civil, civilă |
| Русский | гражда́нское лицо́ graždánskoje licó, гражда́нский челове́к graždánskij čelovék, гражда́нский graždánskij, шта́тский štátskij, ми́рный жи́тель mírnyj žítelʹ, ми́рная жи́тельница mírnaja žítelʹnica |
| Tiếng Việt | người thường, thường dân, dân thường |
| العربية | مَدَنِيّ madaniyy, مَدَنِيَّة madaniyya |
| עברית | אֶזְרָח ezrákh, אֶזְרָחִית ezrakhít |
adj not related to the military armed forces
| Español | civil |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 민간의 min'ganui |
| 日本語 | 民間 minkan no, 市民の shimin no |
| हिन्दी | नागरिक nāgrik, सिविल sivil |
| Português | civil |
| Français | civil |
| Deutsch | zivil |
| Italiano | civile |
| Română | civil |
| Русский | гражда́нский graždánskij, циви́льный civílʹnyj, шта́тский štátskij |
| العربية | مَدَنِيّ madaniyy |
| עברית | אֶזְרָחִי ezrakhí |
Talk about this word "civilian." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/civilian. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. civilian. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/civilian "civilian." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/civilian.Cite this
@misc{civilian_2026,
title = {civilian},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/civilian},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
