Where does “uncivil” come from?
Uncivil comes from English civil, from Latin civilis meaning "of citizens," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European óynos and ano- roots relating to unity and negation.
uncivil (English): Not civilized; Not civil; discourteous; impolite
Definitions
- Not civilized; Not civil; discourteous; impolite
Ancestry of “uncivil”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Un- | not |
| 2 | English | still | Not moving; calm; Not effervescing; not... |
| 3 | Old English | stillan | become calm, abate, subside; calm, pacify,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | stillijan | to make still, quiet |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -jan | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -janą | Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 9 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |