LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

cīvis

cīvis m or f (genitive cīvis)
Classical[ˈkiː.wɪs]Ecclesiastical[ˈt͡ʃiː.vis]
№ 471 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. citizen
    SĪMŌ: Eho tū, Glycerium hinc cīvem esse ais? / CRĪTŌ: Tū negās?SIMO: Hey you, are you saying that Glycerium is a citizen from here? CRITO: Do you deny it?166 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Andria 908–909
  2. broadlya subject (i.e., a person subject to a ruler)

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quī iūra urbis habet; cīvis Rōmānus.
cīvis -is m/f — in Mille Verba, Urbs et Aedificia

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecīviscīvēs
genitivecīviscīvium
dativecīvīcīvibus
accusativecīvemcīvēs
cīvīs
ablativecīve
cīvī		cīvibus
vocativecīviscīvēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

mundanus, mundi civis et incola (Tusc. 5. 37)
a citizen of the world; cosmopolitan.
plebis dux, vulgi turbator, civis turbulentus, civis rerum novarum cupidus
a demagogue, agitator.
boni cives, optimi, optimates, also simply boni (opp. improbi); illi, qui optimatium causam agunt
the aristocracy (as a party in politics).

cīvis (cīves, C. I. L. 3, 966; 3337 et saep.; ceivis, S. C. Bacch. and Lex Thoria; ceus in Tab. Bant.), is, comm. (abl. usually cive:
I. civi, Plaut. Pers. 4, 3, 6; Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 13, §§ 32 and 33 Zumpt N. cr.; id. Planc. 40, 96; 41, 97; id. Sest. 12, 29; id. Balb. 19, 43; id. Att. 7, 3, 4; 14, 11, 1; cf. Prisc. p. 766 P.; dub. Cic. Phil. 5, 19, 52) [root ki- of κεῖμαι, to lie, abide; cf. κώμη], a citizen (male or female; opp. pe regrinus, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 35, § 77; id. Off. 1, 34, 124; Liv. 22, 35, 5; opp. advena, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 34, § 74; or to hospes, Ter. Phorm. 2, 2, 14; or to hostis, Liv. 8, 36, 1; Hor. Ep. 1, 17, 33; Ov. M. 13, 234).
I. In gen.
a. (Very freq. in all periods and kinds of composition.) Enn. Ann. 174 Vahl.; Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 220: optati cives, populares, incolae, accolae, advenae omnes, Date viam, etc., id. Aul. 3, 1, 1: quod civis cum civi agat, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 13, § 32: cives cum civibus de virtute certabant, Sall. C. 9, 2 al.—
b. In fem.: Attica, Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 159: civis femina, id. Pers. 4, 3, 6; Ter. And. 1, 3, 16; 5, 1, 14: civis virgo, id. Eun. 5, 2, 19; id. Ad. 4, 7, 7: Romana, Cic. Balb. 24, 55; 13, 30; Nep. Them. 1, 2 al.: civis Romanus, Enn. ap. Censor. p. 2725 P. (Ann. v. 174 Vahl.); Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 57, § 147; 2, 4, 61, § 136. —Concerning the political rights of the civis Romanus (opposed to peregrinus or hostis), v. Zimmern, Rechtsgesch. 2, § 123 sq.; Dict. of Antiq. p. 260 sqq.—
II. Esp., a fellow-citizen (for which, in late Lat., concivis): Lunaï portum cognoscite cives, Enn. ap. Pers. 6, 9 (Ann. v. 16 Vahl.); Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 53; Ov. M. 13, 234.—So particularly, civis meus, tuus, etc., my, thy fellow-citizen, Cato ap. Fest. p. 234; Plaut. Trin. 1, 2, 63; Cic. Cat. 1, 7, 17; id. Mil. 34, 93; id. Div. 2, 2, 6; id. Fin. 1, 4, 10.—In fem.: defende cives tuas, senex, Plaut. Rud. 3, 4, 37.—
B. A subject: imperare corpori, ut rex civibus suis, Cic. Rep. 3, 25, 37.—
III. Figuratively: civis totius mundi, a citizen of the world, Cic. Leg. 1, 23, 61.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *ḱey-der. Proto-Italic *keiwis Latin ceivis Latin civis From Old Latin ceivis, from Proto-Italic *keiwis, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- (“to settle, be lying down”).

Descendants
  • Italiancive
  • Oscanceus

In English words that came into English from cīvis

  • citycivitas
  • citizencivitas
  • civilcīvīlis
  • civiccīvicus
  • civilitycivilitas
  • civicscivicus
  • incivilityincivilitas

Quick answers

What does cīvis mean in Latin?
cīvis, a noun, means “citizen; a subject (i.e., a person subject to a ruler)”.
What is the genitive of cīvis?
The genitive singular is cīvis. cīvis is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce cīvis?
In classical Latin, [ˈkiː.wɪs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈt͡ʃiː.vis].
Which English words come from cīvis?
English words that go back to Latin cīvis include city, citizen, civil, civic, civics and civility.