Cywilny

Cywilny is a Polish adjective meaning civil or civilian, used to describe things related to civilian life, non-military affairs, or non-ecclesiastical contexts. It can modify nouns to indicate a non-military or non-state aspect, and it appears in a range of legal, administrative, and everyday expressions. The word has masculine, feminine, and neuter forms: cywilny, cywilna, and cywilne, with corresponding plural forms.

Etymology and cognates: Cywilny derives from the same root as civil in many languages, tracing back to Latin civilis. The term is linked to civil life and civilian domains in Polish vocabulary, as seen in standard expressions.

Common uses in law and administration: In law, the term is most often found in phrases such as prawo cywilne (civil law) and sąd cywilny (civil court). It also occurs in references to civil contracts, civil liability, and civil acts, for example czynności cywilnoprawne (civil-law actions). The expression stan cywilny denotes a person’s civil status, such as single, married, widowed, or divorced.

Other contexts: Cywilny is employed to distinguish non-military sectors from military ones, for instance in discussions of security, defense, or public administration where civilian as opposed to military roles or institutions are described. It can also appear in phrases about everyday life, or in descriptions of non-religious or non-state spheres, such as life in civil society.

Notes on usage: The term is neutral and widely used across formal and informal registers. Its precise meaning is determined by context, especially when contrasted with words like wojskowy (military), państwowy (state-related), or duchowy (religious/spiritual).

See also: Civilian, Civil law, Civil status.