Where does “civil” come from?

Civil comes from Middle English civil, from Old French civil, from Latin civilis, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ḱey- meaning to lie or settle.

civil (English): Having to do with people and government office as...

Definitions

  1. Having to do with people and government office as...

Ancestry of “civil”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcyvyl
2Old Frenchcivil
3Latincīvīlis
4Latin-ilis-ile
5Proto-Italic-elis
6Proto-Indo-European-elis
7Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “civil

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós