civilian
/sɪˈvɪl.jən/ noun, adjective
Forms civilians
- noun A person following the pursuits of civil life, especially one who is not an active member of the armed forces. “Three civilians were apprehended by the soldiers and taken away in a military vehicle.”
- noun (informal) A person who does not belong to a particular group or engage in a particular activity, an outsider. “The bathroom was for employees only, so civilians weren't allowed to use it.”
- noun One skilled in civil law.
- noun A student of civil law at a university or college.
- noun (criminal slang) A person not affiliated with a gang.
- noun (Indian English) An employee of the civil service.
- adjective Not related to the military, police or other governmental professions. “The three detainees were actually army defectors wearing civilian clothing.”
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English cyvylien, from Old French civilien. Equivalent to civil + -ian.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One skilled in the civil law. Ancient civilians and writers upon government. Swift.
- noun A student of the civil law at a university or college. R. Graves.
Etymology [From Civil]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “civilian”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details