English
civilization
Civilization comes from French civilisation.
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcivilisation
- Englishearliest quotation 1936civilization
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcivilisation
- Englishearliest quotation 1936civilization
Earliest quotation: 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art: “Civilisation has imbued man's minds with false ideas of…”
A compound of civil ‘civil’ + civiliser ‘to civilize’
Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- ‘to be lying down’
Proto-Italic *keiwis ‘society’
Latin ceivis
Latin cīvis ‘citizen’
Latin cīvīli
French civil ‘civil’
Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- ‘to be lying down’
Proto-Italic *keiwis ‘society’
Latin ceivis
Latin cīvis ‘citizen’
Latin cīvīli
French civil ‘civil’
French civiliser ‘to civilize’
Linked words
through French civilisation
Today it means
noun An organized culture encompassing many communities, often on the scale of a nation or a people; a stage or system of social, political, or technical development.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / French civilisation / civilization