Etymology

civilization

civ·il·i·za·tion
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Today it means: 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. Full definition →

French civilisation ← Latin cīvīli ← Proto-Italic *keiwis
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱey-
  2. Proto-Italic*keiwis
  3. Latinceivis
  4. Latincīvis
  5. Latincīvīli
  6. Frenchcivil
  7. Frenchciviliser
  8. Frenchcivilisation
  9. English todaycivilization

Borrowed from French civilisation, equivalent to civilize + -ation or civil + -ization.

Words from the same roots

Frenchcivilisation all →

civilisation

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.