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civilian

 - 5 dictionary results

ci⋅vil⋅ian

  [si-vil-yuhn]
Use civilian in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person who is not on active duty with a military, naval, police, or fire fighting organization.
2. Informal. anyone regarded by members of a profession, interest group, society, etc., as not belonging; nonprofessional; outsider: We need a producer to run the movie studio, not some civilian from the business world.
3. a person versed in or studying Roman or civil law.
–adjective
4. of, pertaining to, formed by, or administered by civilians.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME: student of civil law < OF civilien (adj.); see civil, -ian
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ci·vil·ian   (sĭ-vĭl'yən)   
n.  

  1. A person following the pursuits of civil life, especially one who is not an active member of the military, the police, or a belligerent group.

  2. A person who does not belong to a particular group or engage in a particular activity.

  3. A specialist in Roman or civil law.

adj.  Of or relating to civilians or civil life; nonmilitary: civilian clothes; a civilian career.

[Middle English, civil law judge, from Old French civilien, from civil, civil, from Latin cīvīlis; see civil.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

civilian 
1388, from O.Fr. civilien "of the civil law," created from L. civilis (see civil). Original meaning in Eng. was "judge or authority on civil law," sense of "non-military person" is first attested 1829.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: ci·vil·ian
Function: noun
: a specialist in Roman or modern civil law

Main Entry: civilian
Function: adjective
: of or relating to civil law as distinguished from common law
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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