# civilian

> English word · Noun · IPA /sɪˈvɪl.jən/ · frequency rank #4,837

## Definitions
1. A person following the pursuits of civil life, especially one who is not an active member of the armed forces.
2. A person who does not belong to a particular group or engage in a particular activity, an outsider.
3. One skilled in civil law.
4. A student of civil law at a university or college.
5. A person not affiliated with a gang.
6. An employee of the civil service.

## Etymology
From Middle English cyvylien, from Old French civilien. Equivalent to civil + -ian.

## Easily confused with
- **civility** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/civilian-vs-civility)
- **civilians** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/civilian-vs-civilians)

## Common misspellings (11)
`ccivilian`, `ciivlian`, `civiilan`, `civilain`, `civiliann`, `civilina`, `civillian`, `civliian`, `civvilian`, `cviilian`, `icvilian`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/civilian