civilian

C1 Topic:People & Society

US /sɪˈvɪl.jən/ See IPA manual

Freq #5625

Meanings

1

noun
A person who is not a member of the armed forces or police.

Many civilians were forced to flee the war zone.
2

adj
Relating to ordinary people, not the military or police.

The soldiers changed into civilian clothing.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms civilians

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

civilian clothing
ordinary clothes worn instead of a military or other official uniform

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English cyvylien, from Old French civilien. Equivalent to civil + -ian.

cyvylien Middle English civilien Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# civilian

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /sɪˈvɪl.jən/
**Frequency rank:** 5625

## Meanings
1. A person who is not a member of the armed forces or police.
2. Relating to ordinary people, not the military or police.

## Examples
- Many civilians were forced to flee the war zone.
- The soldiers changed into civilian clothing.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cyvylien
- Root: civilien

## Etymology
From Middle English cyvylien, from Old French civilien. Equivalent to civil + -ian.

## AI Etymology
Civilian is from Middle English cyvylien, from Old French civilien. Equivalent to civil + -ian. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern adjectival form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include cyvylien (Middle English) and civilien (Old French). Current senses include a person who is not a member of the armed forces or police and relating to ordinary people, not the military or police.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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