Skip to main content
Find a Lawyer
Please enter a legal issue and/or a location
Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select
FindLaw Legal Dictionary

The FindLaw Legal Dictionary -- free access to over 8260 definitions of legal terms. Search for a definition or browse our legal glossaries.

term:

Civil

civil adj

[Latin civilis, from civis citizen]
1 : concerning, befitting, or applying to individual citizens or to citizens as a whole [a duty] see also civil right
2 : marked by public order
: peaceable in behavior
3 : of or relating to a legal system based on Roman law as opposed to the English common law see also the Judicial System in the back matter
4 : relating to private rights and to judicial proceedings in connection with them
;esp
: relating to legal matters other than those characterized as criminal [a action] [a infraction]
5 : defined by law
: legal [a disability]
6 : of, relating to, or involving the general public, their activities, needs, ways, or civic affairs as distinguished from special (as military or religious) affairs [the authorities] [the service]
civ·il·ly adv



Source: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©1996. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.

Copied to clipboard

Find a Lawyer

More Options