Civic, civil, civilian. All these adjective words are derived from the Latin word 'civis' meaning citizen, a city inhabitant, so the tricky thing is to make clear the differences between them. Civic is used for things closely connected with life in a city. City Hall is the equivalent of "mestský magistrát", but the Civic Hall is for entertainment - concerts, exhibitions or cinema clubs, for example.

A civic association is a group of citizens with a common goal; the equivalent institution in a village is called the pub. Civil focuses more on the quality of being a citizen, so it can be a synonym for 'polite' (from Greek 'polis' meaning city). Civil law protects people's private rights, and the civil service is "štátna správa" in the UK. Civilian indicates an ordinary citizen who is not enrolled in the armed (military) forces. Civilian service was the alternative to basic military service, where young men could work in hospitals, special schools or institutions instead of doing army training, if they were conscientious objectors.