civil war

civil war
civil war "battles among fellow citizens or within a community," from CIVIL (Cf. civil) in a sense of "occurring among fellow citizens" attested from late 14c. in batayle ciuile "civil battle," etc. The exact phrase civil war is attested from late 15c. (the Latin phrase was bella civicus). Early use typically was in reference to ancient Rome. Later, in England, to the struggle between Parliament and Charles I (1641-1651); in U.S., to the War of Secession (1861-1865), an application often decried as wholly inaccurate but in use (among other names) in the North during the war and boosted by the use of the term in the popular "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War" series published 1884-87 in "Century Magazine."
"The war between the States," which a good many Southerners prefer, is both bookish and inexact. "Civil war" is an utter misnomer. It was used and is still used by courteous people, the same people who are careful to say "Federal" and "Confederate." "War of the rebellion," which begs the very question at issue, has become the official designation of the struggle, but has found no acceptance with the vanquished. To this day no Southerner uses it except by way of quotation .... "The war of secession" is still used a good deal in foreign books, but it has no popular hold. "The war," without any further qualification, served the turn of Thucydides and Aristophanes for the Peloponnesian war. It will serve ours, let it be hoped, for some time to come. [Basil L. Gildersleeve, "The Creed of the Old South," 1915]

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Civil War (EP) — Civil War EP de Guns N Roses Publicación 24 de mayo de 1993 Género(s) Hard rock, Heavy metal Discográfica Geffen …   Wikipedia Español

  • Civil war — Civil Civ il, a. [L. civilis, fr. civis citizen: cf. F. civil. See {City}.] 1. Pertaining to a city or state, or to a citizen in his relations to his fellow citizens or to the state; within the city or state. [1913 Webster] 2. Subject to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • civil war — ♦♦♦ civil wars N COUNT A civil war is a war which is fought between different groups of people who live in the same country. ...the Spanish Civil War …   English dictionary

  • Civil war — War War, n. [OE. & AS. werre; akin to OHG. werra scandal, quarrel, sedition, werran to confound, mix, D. warren, G. wirren, verwirren, to embroil, confound, disturb, and perhaps to E. worse; cf. OF. werre war, F. querre, of Teutonic origin. Cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • civil war — n. war between geographical sections or political factions of the same nation the Civil War the war between the North (the Union) and the South (the Confederacy) in the U.S. (1861 65) …   English World dictionary

  • civil war — n [U and C] a war in which opposing groups of people from the same country fight each other in order to gain political control ▪ the Spanish civil war …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • civil war — noun count or uncount * a war fought between different groups of people within the same country …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • civil war — ► NOUN ▪ a war between citizens of the same country …   English terms dictionary

  • Civil war — This article is about the definition of the specific type of war. For civil wars in history, see List of civil wars. For other uses, see Civil war (disambiguation). Warfare …   Wikipedia

  • Civil War — Para otros usos de este término, véase Guerra civil (desambiguación). Para la canción de Guns N Roses, véase Civil War (canción). Guerra Civil Civil War [[Archivo …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”