LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivethird-declension two-termination adjective

cīvīlis1

cīvīlis (neuter cīvīle, comparative cīvīlior, superlative cīvīlissimus, adverb cīvīliter)
Classical[kiːˈwiː.lɪs]Ecclesiastical[t͡ʃiˈviː.lis]

Meaning

  1. two terminationcivic, civil (of or pertaining to citizens)
  2. two terminationpublic, political (of or pertaining to public or political life)
  3. figurativelytwo terminationcourteous, polite, civil, affable, urbane

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativecīvīliscīvīliscīvīle
genitivecīvīliscīvīliscīvīlis
dativecīvīlīcīvīlīcīvīlī
accusativecīvīlemcīvīlemcīvīle
ablativecīvīlīcīvīlīcīvīlī
vocativecīvīliscīvīliscīvīle
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativecīvīlēscīvīlēscīvīlia
genitivecīvīliumcīvīliumcīvīlium
dativecīvīlibuscīvīlibuscīvīlibus
accusativecīvīlīs
cīvīlēs		cīvīlīs
cīvīlēs		cīvīlia
ablativecīvīlibuscīvīlibuscīvīlibus
vocativecīvīlēscīvīlēscīvīlia

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

res civiles
political questions.
se civilibus fluctibus committere
to enter the whirlpool of political strife.
prudentia (civilis) (De Or. 1. 19. 85)
statesmanship; political wisdom.
viri rerum civilium, rei publicae gerendae periti or viri in re publica prudentes
statesmen.

cīvīlis, e, adj. civis.
I. Of or pertaining to citizens, civil, civic (class. in prose and poetry, and very freq.): sanguine civili rem conflant, by the blood of citizens, * Lucr. 3, 70; Cic. Fam. 15, 15, 1: conjuratio, id. ib. 5, 12, 2: bellum, id. Att. 7, 13, 1; id. Imp. Pomp. 10, 28: bella, Hor. Epod. 16, 1; Luc. 1, 1: genus belli, Cic. Att. 7, 13, 1; Sall. C. 47, 2; Quint. 12, 1, 16; Flor. 3, 22, 10; 3, 23, 7: facinus, Cic. Att. 7, 13, 1.—So De Bello Civili, the title of a portion of the Commentaries of Julius Cæsar, Flor. 4, 2, 4: discordia, Sall. C. 5, 2: dissensio, id. J. 41 fin.: discidii specie, Tac. A. 14, 60: irae, id. ib. 1, 43: acies, Ov. M. 7, 142: arma, civil war, Cic. Div. 2, 2, 6; Tac. A. 1, 9: aestus, Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 47: Mars, Ov. H. 6, 35: busta, Prop. 2, 1, 27: victoria, Nep. Epam. 10, 3; Sall. J. 95, 4; Tac. H. 4, 38 fin.: praeda, id. ib. 3, 15 et saep.: mos consuetudoque, Cic. Off. 1, 41,148; cf.just before: instituta civilia: conciliatio et societas, id. N. D. 2, 31, 78: facinus, id. Att. 7, 13, 1: clamor, Liv. 3, 28, 4; cf. robur, id. 28, 44, 5: curae, Hor. C. 3, 8, 17: quercus = corona civica (v. civicus, I.), Verg. A. 6, 772: civilis dies, the civil day (from midnight to midnight; opp. to the naturalis dies, from the rising to the setting of the sun), Varr. R. R. 1, 28, 1; Plin. 2, 77, 79, § 188; Macr. S. 1, 3: amor (opp. to naturalis), between citizens, Gell. 12, 1, 23.—
2. Esp.: jus civile.
a. In gen., private rights, the law, as it protects citizens in their status, property, etc.: jus civile est aequitas constituta iis, qui ejusdem civitatis sunt, ad res suas obtinendas, Cic. Top. 2, 9: sit ergo in jure civili finis hic: legitimae atque usitatae in rebus causisque civium aequabilitatis conservatio, id. de Or. 1, 42, 188: qui jus civile contemnendum putat, is vincula revellit judiciorum, etc., id. Caecin. 25, 70; id. Off. 3, 17, 69; id. Balb. 11, 28; Gai Inst. 1, 1; Just. Inst. 1, 2, 1 sq.; opp. jus naturale: quodam tempore homines nondum neque naturali neque civili jure descripto fusi, etc., Cic. Sest. 42, 91.—
b. The body of Roman law relating to private rights, the Civil Law: ut si quis dicat jus civile id esse, quod in legibus, senatūs consultis, rebus judicatis, juris peritorum auctoritate, edictis magistratuum, more, aequitate consistat, Cic. Top. 5, 28: hoc civile (jus) quod dicimus (opp. causa universi juris ac legum), id. Leg. 1, 5, 17: de jure civili si quis novi quid instituit, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 42, § 109; opp. jus nationum, id. Div in Caecil. 5, 18; opp. jus praetorium, the precedents of decisions by the prætor: nam quod agas mecum ex jure civili ac praetorio non habes, id. Caecin. 12, 34; 2, 4; cf. Dig. 1, 1, 7 pr. and § 1.—
c. In narrower sense, the code of procedure, the forms of process in the Roman law: civile jus, repositum in penetralibus pontificum, evulgavit (Licinius), Liv. 9, 46, 5 Weissenb. ad loc.: jus civile per multa saecula inter sacra caerimoniasque deorum abditum, Cn. Flavius vulgavit, Val. Max. 2, 5, 2; cf. Dig. 1, 2, 2, § 5 sqq.; plur.: inteream si... novi civilia jura, Hor. S. 1, 9, 39.—
B. Relating to public or political life, political, public, state-: scientia, politics, political science, Cic. Inv. 1, 5, 6; Quint. 2, 15, 33: quaestiones, id. 2, 15, 36: officia, id. 2, 15, 36, and 2, 4, 27: civilium rerum peritus, Tac. H. 2, 5: mersor civilibus undis, Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 16: vir, a statesman, πολιτικος, Quint. prooem. § 10; 11, 10, 15; 12, 2, 7; 12, 2, 21; 11, 1, 35.—
2. Esp. civil, opp. military (first in Livy): is gravis annis non militaribus solum sed civilibus quoque abscesserat muneribus, Liv. 9, 3, 5; cf.: civilis res haud magnopere obeuntem bella excitabant, id. 6, 22, 7.—
II. Trop. (cf. popularis, and the Gr. κοινός), demeaning one's self as a citizen; hence of distinguished persons, courteous, polite, civil, affable, urbane (so not before the Aug. per.; esp. freq. in Suet.; in Quint. only once): quid enim civilius illo? Ov. Tr. 4, 4, 13: sermo, Liv. 6, 40, 15: animus, id. 45, 32, 5; Tac. A. 1, 72; Suet. Caes. 75; id. Claud. 1; id. Dom. 12; cf. id. Calig. 3; id. Vesp. 12: parumque id non civile modo sed humanum etiam visum, unbecoming a private citizen, Liv. 5, 23, 5: et humano ingressu, Quint. 3, 8, 59 Spald.: incessu, Plin. Pan. 83, 7: civile ingenium, mira comitas, Tac. A. 1, 33; cf. id. ib. 2, 82: arma, id. H. 4, 3: civile rebatur, misceri voluptatibus vulgi, id. A. 1, 54; cf. id. ib. 2, 34; 3, 22; Plin. Pan. 78, 4; 87, 1: civilis circa amicos, Eutr. 7, 13: in cunctos, id. 10, 16.—Sup., Eutr. 8, 1; Spart. Had. 20, 1.—As subst.: cīvīle, is, n., courtesy: si quicquam in vobis non dico civilis sed humani esset, Liv. 5, 3, 9.—Hence, adv.: cīvīlĭter.
1. (Acc. to I.) Citizen-like: vivere, Cic. ap. Lact. 3, 14: certare, Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 14, 3; Liv. 38, 56, 9; 33, 46, 3; Juv. 5, 112; Gell. praef. § 13.—
b. In judicial language, civilly (opp. criminally): agere, Dig. 47, 2, 92; 11, 6, 1; 47, 10, 37.—
2. (Acc. to 2.) As becomes a citizen, courteously, kindly, Ov. M. 12, 583; id. Tr. 3, 8, 41; Tac. A. 3, 76; 4, 21; id. H. 2, 91.—Comp.: civilius, Plin. Pan. 29, 2; App. M. 9, p. 236, 10.—Sup.: civilissime, Eutr. 7, 8.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *ḱey-der. Proto-Italic *keiwis Latin ceivis Latin cīvis Proto-Indo-European *-elis Proto-Italic *-elis Latin -ilis Latin -īlis Latin cīvīlis From cīvis (“citizen”) + -īlis. Compare typologically urbānus. For the opposite, compare rūsticus (whence English rustic), pāgānus (whence English pagan), agrestis. Similarly, compare Ancient Greek ἀστεῖος (asteîos) vs. ἄγροικος (ágroikos). Note silvāticus (whence English savage), vīllānus (whence villain).

Descendants
  • Catalancivil
  • Englishcivil
  • Frenchcivil
  • Germanzivilfrom French civil
  • Germancivilfrom French civil
  • Italiancivile
  • Portuguesecível
  • Portuguesecivil
  • Romaniancivil
  • Spanishcivil

In English words that came into English from cīvīlis

  • civilcīvīlis
  • civilitycivilitas
  • incivilityincivilitas
proper noun
Cīvīlis2
Cīvīlis
Classical[kiːˈwiː.lɪs]Ecclesiastical[t͡ʃiˈviː.lis]

Meaning

  1. cognomen attested during the 1st to 4th centuries

Cīvīlis, is, m.,
I. a proper name, e. g. Julius Civilis, chief of the Batavi, Tac. H. 4, 13 sq.; abl. Civile, id. ib. 4, 35.

Quick answers

What does cīvīlis mean in Latin?
cīvīlis, a adjective, means “civic, civil (of or pertaining to citizens); public, political (of or pertaining to public or political life); courteous, polite, civil, affable, urbane”.
How do you pronounce cīvīlis?
In classical Latin, [kiːˈwiː.lɪs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [t͡ʃiˈviː.lis].
Which English words come from cīvīlis?
English words that go back to Latin cīvīlis include civil, civility and incivility.