civ·il /ˈsɪvəl/
 (a.)公民的,市民的;國內的,民間的;文職的;有禮貌的,文明的
 civil
 民用 土木
 Civ·il a.
 1. Pertaining to a city or state, or to a citizen in his relations to his fellow citizens or to the state; within the city or state.
 2. Subject to government; reduced to order; civilized; not barbarous; -- said of the community.
    England was very rude and barbarous; for it is but even the other day since England grew civil.   --Spenser.
 3. Performing the duties of a citizen; obedient to government; -- said of an individual.
    Civil men come nearer the saints of God than others; they come within a step or two of heaven.   --Preston
 4. Having the manners of one dwelling in a city, as opposed to those of savages or rustics; polite; courteous; complaisant; affable.
 Note: ☞ “A civil man now is one observant of slight external courtesies in the mutual intercourse between man and man; a civil man once was one who fulfilled all the duties and obligations flowing from his position as a 'civis' and his relations to the other members of that 'civitas.'”
 5. Pertaining to civic life and affairs, in distinction from military, ecclesiastical, or official state.
 6. Relating to rights and remedies sought by action or suit distinct from criminal proceedings.
 Civil action, an action to enforce the rights or redress the wrongs of an individual, not involving a criminal proceeding.
 Civil architecture, the architecture which is employed in constructing buildings for the purposes of civil life, in distinction from military and naval architecture, as private houses, palaces, churches, etc.
 Civil death. Law. See under Death.
 Civil engineering. See under Engineering.
 Civil law. See under Law.
 Civil list. See under List.
 Civil remedy Law, that given to a person injured, by action, as opposed to a criminal prosecution.
 Civil service, all service rendered to and paid for by the state or nation other than that pertaining to naval or military affairs.
 Civil service reform, the substitution of business principles and methods for the spoils system in the conduct of the civil service, esp. in the matter of appointments to office.
 Civil state, the whole body of the laity or citizens not included under the military, maritime, and ecclesiastical states.
 Civil suit. Same as Civil action.
 Civil war. See under War.
 Civil year. See under Year.
 ◄ ►
 civil
      adj 1: applying to ordinary citizens; "civil law"; "civil
             authorities"
      2: not rude; marked by satisfactory (or especially minimal)
         adherence to social usages and sufficient but not
         noteworthy consideration for others; "even if he didn't
         like them he should have been civil"- W.S. Maugham [syn: polite]
         [ant: uncivil]
      3: of or occurring within the state or between or among
         citizens of the state; "civil affairs"; "civil strife";
         "civil disobediece"; "civil branches of government"
      4: of or relating to or befitting citizens as individuals;
         "civil rights"; "civil liberty"; "civic duties"; "civic
         pride" [syn: civic]
      5: (of divisions of time) legally recognized in ordinary
         affairs of life; "the civil calendar"; "a civil day begins
         at mean midnight" [ant: sidereal]
      6: of or in a condition of social order; "civil peoples"