CIVILIAN

Civilian

A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation. In U.S. parlance, a civilian is also considered one not on active duty in the armed services or not on a police or firefighting force.

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civilian

Noun

  1. A person following the pursuits of civil life, especially one who is not an active member of the military, the police, or a belligerent group.
    Three civilians were apprehended by the soldiers and taken away in a military vehicle.
  2. A person who does not belong to a particular group or engage in a particular activity.
  3. One skilled in civil law.
  4. A student of civil law at a university or college.

Adjective

civilian

  1. That which is not related to the military, police or other uniformed profession
    The three detainees were actually army defectors wearing civilian clothing.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: civilian
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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