civilize
244
situations in which the Earth is in great danger: Will these
aliens invade? Could this mean the end of civilization as we
know it?
civ·i·lize also -lise BrE /'sIvəl-aIz/ v [T] 1 to bring from a
lower stage of development to a highly developed stage of
social organization: The Romans hoped to civilize all the
tribes of ancient Europe. 2 to cause to improve in habits and
manners: the teacher's civilizing influence on her young pupils
civ·i·lized also -lised BrE /'sIvəl-aIzd/ adj 1 [no comp.] hav-
ing a highly developed social organization; in a state of
civilization.: The dictator's terrible crimes will be condemned
by all civilized nations. 2 pleasant, charming, and without
roughness of manner or style: a very civilized person | We
spent a rather civilized evening in a quiet little wine bar.
,civil 'law n [U] 1 the body of law concerned with judging
private quarrels between people and dealing with the rights
of private citizens, rather than with criminal or military
cases 2 also Roman Law — the body of law belonging to
ancient Rome and the modern systems of law based upon
it 3 the law of a particular state as opposed to other kinds of
law, such as international law → compare CANON LAW,
COMMON LAW, CRIMINAL LAW
,civil 'liberty also civil liberties pl. — n [U] freedom of
opinion, thought, speech, action etc, so long as this does
not harm other people → compare CIVIL RIGHTS
'civil list n [the+S] (in Britain) the sum of money voted yearly
by Parliament to the King or Queen as head of state, and to
certain other related people
civ·il·ly /'sIvəl-i/ adv 1 politely; in a civil way: If you can't
behave civilly you'd better leave. 2 in accordance with CIVIL
LAW
'civil ,marriage n (in law) a marriage performed by some-
one who is not a priest
,civil 'parish n a PARISH
,civil 'partner n someone who has an official relationship
with another person of the same sex, so that he or she has
the same rights in law as a husband or wife in a marriage
,civil 'partnership n an official relationship between two
people of the same sex. In law, they have the same rights as
two people who are married.
,civil 'rights n [P] the non-political rights of freedom, equal-
ity etc which belong to a citizen without regard to race,
religion, colour, sex etc: Do blacks and whites have the same
civil rights in your country? | equal civil rights for men and
women → compare CIVIL LIBERTY; see also BILL OF RIGHTS
Civil Rights Act of 1964, the /ˌsIvəl ˌraɪts ˌækt əv
ˌnaɪnˈtiːn ˌsɪksti ˈfɔːr/ a US law which says that businesses
must treat people equally whatever their colour or religion,
and that they cannot refuse to employ someone because of
their colour. This law also says that restaurants and hotels
cannot refuse to serve someone because of their colour.
During the 1960s many white people, especially in the south,
disliked this law and often ignored it. People in the US
remember news reports about African Americans going to
restaurants which previously only served white people, and
that this caused anger among white RACISTS and sometimes
led to violence.
,civil 'rights ,movement, the in the US, the attempt from
1954 onwards to get equal rights for African Americans and
for people of any race or colour, through non-violent actions.
It was led especially by Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Several cases
involving civil rights went to the US Supreme Court; the most
important was BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA. In
1964 a Civil Rights Act was passed making unequal treatment
of races illegal, and in 1965, the government banned (BAN)
the last tests and restrictions which some states had used to
stop African-American people from voting; this gave all adults
the right to vote, regardless of colour. → see also CIVIL RIGHTS
ACT OF 1964, Jim CROW, Martin Luther KING; see Cultural
Note at SOUTH and see picture on page A48
,civil 'servant n a person employed in the CIVIL SERVICE →
see OFFICER (USAGE)
CULTURAL NOTE In the UK, the STEREOTYPE of a civil
servant is a boring man who wears a dark formal suit. He
typically pays too much attention to small unimportant
rules in order to seem very official, and people think that
he actually does not do much useful work.
,civil 'service, the (often caps.) 1 all the various departments
of the British and US national governments except the
armed forces, law courts, and religious organizations. In
Britain, people enter the civil service by taking examinations,
in competition with other people. Civil servants are not
allowed to take any active part in politics. They do not
change when the government changes. In the US, most
people enter through examinations, but some people receive
civil service posts as a reward for political services, and so
the holders of these posts change depending on which party
forms the government: She works in the civil serv-
ice. 2 [+sing./pl. v] all the people who are employed in these
departments: The civil service get/gets longer holidays than
we do.
,civil 'war n [C;U] (a) war between opposing groups of people
from the same country, fought within that country: Civil
war broke out after the President's death. | The country is now
in a state of civil war.
Civil War, the 1 also the American Civil War, the War
Between the States a war (1861–65) between the American
North and South, which began when 11 southern states
rebelled (=opposed and fought) against the US Federal gov-
ernment. These rebel states formed a separate government
called the CONFEDERACY and together tried to secede (=sepa-
rate) from the UNION (=the US). The northern states (also 11
in number at that time), under the US government, formed
the Union army and fought to keep the South. The war was
caused mainly by the disagreement over slavery (=owning
slaves). The South's economy depended on slavery and farm-
ing, while the North depended on industry and Northerners
wanted an end to slavery. As new states in the West were
joining the US, members of CONGRESS had argued over
whether the new states should be allowed to have slavery
and whether the government should be allowed to forbid it.
The disagreement over the balance of power between the
Federal (=central) government and state governments was a
bitter one. When President LINCOLN was elected, the south-
ern states feared that he would abolish (=forbid) slavery
altogether, so they seceded from the Union. The Confedera-
cy's president was Jefferson DAVIS and its army was led by
Robert E. LEE. The Union, or Yankees under Lincoln, fought
under the command of Ulysses S. GRANT. The South won
many battles, and Lee was much admired for his military
excellence, but the North had more soldiers and supplies.
More than 600,000 soldiers died before the North won a
victory which kept the Union (=North and South) together.
During the war, Lincoln declared the slaves of the Confed-
eracy to be free (see EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION). After the
war, slavery was abolished altogether by the 13th Amend-
ment (=change) of the CONSTITUTION. The period of rebuild-
ing the country, especially the South, that followed the war
was called RECONSTRUCTION. → see picture on page A48
2 also the English Civil War — a war 1642–51) resulting from
a power struggle between King Charles I and the English
parliament led by Oliver Cromwell, during which the King
Charles I, was defeated and executed (EXECUTE) → see also
SPANISH CIVIL WAR
civ·vies, civies /'sIviːz/ n [P] slang the kind of clothes
ordinary people wear, as opposed to a military uniform. This
word is used mainly by people in the armed forces: an army
officer in civvies
civ·vy street /'sIvi striːt/ n [U] slang, now rare life outside the
armed forces. This word is used mainly by people who are or
have been in the armed forces.
CJD /ˌsiː dʒeɪ ˈdiː/ n [U] abbrev. for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease; a
dangerous disease that affects the brain and usually causes
death. It is considered to be related to BSE, a disease that
affects cows.
clack /klæk/ v 1 [I;T] to (cause to) make one or more quick
sharp sounds: The typewriters clacked busily. 2 [I] infml to talk
quickly and continuously; CHATTER: clacking tongues (=peo-
ple talking quickly and continuously) —clack n [S] the
incessant clack of knitting needles
clad /klæd/ adj [in] especially lit (often in comb.) covered or clothed
She was clad all in silk and lace. | poorly-clad children | an
armour-clad ship