civilian

[Victor Steinbok]

In cinematic portrayals, both cops and mafia members refer to non-mafia
family members and to bystander casualties as "civilians"--this goes
back at least to Godfather, probably earlier. In 2002 Collateral Damage,
Schwartzenegger plays a firefighter who tries to hunt down a terrorist.
He's alternately being described as an "officer" and a "civilian"--the
former in supposed media reports, the latter by intelligence personnel.

This came up on the list just a couple of weeks ago. I recollect looking
it up in some detail.

     VS-)

On 4/16/2012 8:32 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> OED includes "civilian" as "a person who is not a member of a specified
> profession or group."
>
> HDAS has "a layperson; a non-member of the speaker's group." Both offer a
> 1946 primary date. HDAS thought it slang in 1994, OED today does not.
>
> Consider Pres. Obama's remark the other day (without "specification" as I
> heard it) that Ann Romney shouldn't be criticized because "Ann Romney is a
> civilian."
>
>
> JL

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