civilian

[Chris F Waigl]

Arnold M. Zwicky wrote:

> i think if you look around you can find other extended uses of
> "civilian", to refer to a non-member of some specialized group.  i've
> heard it used by people in various academic fields (linguistics,
> physics, etc.) to refer anyone who's not a specialist in their field.
>

Well, better than calling those "pedestrians" or "the uninitiated" I
imagine.

I hear "civilian" used in this sense by EMTs and other medical people
with a role in accident and emergency. And once by a Tube station
supervisor (mentioning to a colleague that they needed to "guide the
civilians out" when the station was being closed -- quoting from memory).

Chris Waigl

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