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civil

civil, civilian

adjective see-BEEL Less Common
People & Society Law

Origin: From Latin civilis, 'of citizens'.

Also means

polite, courteous

Usage Note

Civil covers both 'non-military' (población civil, civilian population) and 'relating to citizens or law' (matrimonio civil, civil marriage). Its secondary sense of 'polite' is literary and less common. The word is invariable by gender — same form for masculine and feminine — and makes its plural by adding -es: civiles.

Examples

"El conflicto afectó a la población civil."

Natural Translation

The conflict affected the civilian population.

Literal Translation

The conflict affected to the population civil

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