What is "civil war"

War \War\, n. [OE. & AS. werre; akin to OHG. werra scandal, quarrel, sedition, werran to confound, mix, D. warren, G. wirren, verwirren, to embroil, confound, disturb, and perhaps to E. worse; cf. OF. werre war, F. querre, of Teutonic origin. Cf. Guerrilla, Warrior.]

1. A contest between nations or states, carried on by force, whether for defence, for revenging insults and redressing wrongs, for the extension of commerce, for the acquisition of territory, for obtaining and establishing the superiority and dominion of one over the other, or for any other purpose; armed conflict of sovereign powers; declared and open hostilities.

   Men will ever distinguish war from mere bloodshed.
   --F. W. Robertson.

   Note: As war is the contest of nations or states, it always implies that such contest is authorized by the monarch or the sovereign power of the nation. A war begun by attacking another nation, is called an offensive war, and such attack is aggressive. War undertaken to repel invasion, or the attacks of an enemy, is called defensive.

2. (Law) A condition of belligerency to be maintained by physical force. In this sense, levying war against the sovereign authority is treason.

3. Instruments of war. [Poetic]

   His complement of stores, and total war.
   --Prior.

4. Forces; army. [Poetic]

   On their embattled ranks the waves return, And overwhelm their war.
   --Milton.

5. The profession of arms; the art of war.

   Thou art but a youth, and he is a man of war from his youth.
   --1 Sam. xvii. 33.

6. a state of opposition or contest; an act of opposition; an inimical contest, act, or action; enmity; hostility. ``Raised impious war in heaven.''
   --Milton.

   The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart.
   --Ps. lv. 21.

   Civil war, a war between different sections or parties of the same country or nation.

   Holy war. See under Holy.

   Man of war. (Naut.) See in the Vocabulary.

   Public war, a war between independent sovereign states.

   War cry, a cry or signal used in war; as, the Indian war cry.

   War dance, a dance among savages preliminary to going to war. Among the North American Indians, it is begun by some distinguished chief, and whoever joins in it thereby enlists as one of the party engaged in a warlike excursion.
   --Schoolcraft.

   War field, a field of war or battle.

   War horse, a horse used in war; the horse of a cavalry soldier; especially, a strong, powerful, spirited horse for military service; a charger.

   War paint, paint put on the face and other parts of the body by savages, as a token of going to war. ``Wash the war paint from your faces.''
   --Longfellow.

   War song, a song of or pertaining to war; especially, among the American Indians, a song at the war dance, full of incitements to military ardor.

   War whoop, a war cry, especially that uttered by the American Indians.

Civil \Civ"il\, a. [L. civilis, fr. civis citizen: cf. F. civil. See City.]

1. Pertaining to a city or state, or to a citizen in his relations to his fellow citizens or to the state; within the city or state.

2. Subject to government; reduced to order; civilized; not barbarous; -- said of the community.

   England was very rude and barbarous; for it is but even the other day since England grew civil.
   --Spenser.

3. Performing the duties of a citizen; obedient to government; -- said of an individual.

   Civil men come nearer the saints of God than others; they come within a step or two of heaven.
   --Preston

4. Having the manners of one dwelling in a city, as opposed to those of savages or rustics; polite; courteous; complaisant; affable.

   Note: ``A civil man now is one observant of slight external courtesies in the mutual intercourse between man and man; a civil man once was one who fulfilled all the duties and obligations flowing from his position as a 'civis' and his relations to the other members of that 'civitas.'''
   --Trench

5. Pertaining to civic life and affairs, in distinction from military, ecclesiastical, or official state.

6. Relating to rights and remedies sought by action or suit distinct from criminal proceedings.

   Civil action, an action to enforce the rights or redress the wrongs of an individual, not involving a criminal proceeding.

   Civil architecture, the architecture which is employed in constructing buildings for the purposes of civil life, in distinction from military and naval architecture, as private houses, palaces, churches, etc.

   Civil death. (Law.) See under Death.

   Civil engineering. See under Engineering.

   Civil law. See under Law.

   Civil list. See under List.

   Civil remedy (Law), that given to a person injured, by action, as opposed to a criminal prosecution.

   Civil service, all service rendered to and paid for by the state or nation other than that pertaining to naval or military affairs.

   Civil service reform, the substitution of business principles and methods for the spoils system in the conduct of the civil service, esp. in the matter of appointments to office.

   Civil state, the whole body of the laity or citizens not included under the military, maritime, and ecclesiastical states.

   Civil suit. Same as Civil action.

   Civil war. See under War.

   Civil year. See under Year.

"battles among fellow citizens or within a community," from civil in a sense of "occurring among fellow citizens" attested from late 14c. in batayle ciuile "civil battle," etc. The exact phrase civil war is attested from late 15c. (the Latin phrase was bella civicus). An Old English word for it was ingewinn. Ancient Greek had polemos epidemios.\n

\nEarly use typically was in reference to ancient Rome. Later, in England, to the struggle between Parliament and Charles I (1641-1651); in U.S., to the War of Secession (1861-1865), an application often decried as wholly inaccurate but in use (among other names) in the North during the war and boosted by the use of the term in the popular "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War" series published 1884-87 in "Century Magazine."\n\n"The war between the States," which a good many Southerners prefer, is both bookish and inexact. "Civil war" is an utter misnomer. It was used and is still used by courteous people, the same people who are careful to say "Federal" and "Confederate." "War of the rebellion," which begs the very question at issue, has become the official designation of the struggle, but has found no acceptance with the vanquished. To this day no Southerner uses it except by way of quotation .... "The war of secession" is still used a good deal in foreign books, but it has no popular hold. "The war," without any further qualification, served the turn of Thucydides and Aristophanes for the Peloponnesian war. It will serve ours, let it be hoped, for some time to come.

[Basil L. Gildersleeve, "The Creed of the Old South," 1915]

n. Any of several civil wars, taken specifically.

n. a war between factions in the same country

The Civil War is the colloquial name for an American college football rivalry game played annually in Oregon, between the Ducks of the University of Oregon in Eugene and the Beavers of Oregon State University in Corvallis. First played in 1894, it is the fifth most played college football rivalry game in the United States. Both universities are members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.

A civil war is an armed conflict within a nation. See List of civil wars for a longer list of specific conflicts. Civil war may also refer to:

"Civil War" is a song by the rock band Guns N' Roses, which originally appeared on the 1990 compilation Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal and later on the 1991 album Use Your Illusion II. It is a protest song on war, referring to all war as "civil war" and stating that war only "feeds the rich while it buries the poor". In the song, singer Axl Rose asks, "What's so civil about war, anyway?"

It was released as a single in 1993 in several regions. Several regions in which the single was not released instead saw the release of The "Civil War" EP.

The Civil War is a college rivalry between Oregon State University and the University of Oregon. The rivalry is one of the oldest in the nation, dating back to 1894 when the two universities' football teams first met. Although the college football game is the most popular rivalry, the two universities have Civil War games in every sport that both sponsor. There is also an academic rivalry between the schools on occasion, and competitions for community services such as blood drives take place often.

A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same state or country, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly united state. The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region or to change government policies. The term is a calque of the Latin bellum civile which was used to refer to the various civil wars of the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC.

A civil war is a high-intensity conflict, often involving regular armed forces, that is sustained, organized and large-scale. Civil wars may result in large numbers of casualties and the consumption of significant resources. Most modern civil wars involve intervention by outside powers. According to Patrick M. Regan in his book Civil Wars and Foreign Powers (2000) about two thirds of the 138 intrastate conflicts between the end of World War II and 2000 saw international intervention, with the United States intervening in 35 of these conflicts.

Civil wars since the end of World War II have lasted on average just over four years, a dramatic rise from the one-and-a-half-year average of the 1900–1944 period. While the rate of emergence of new civil wars has been relatively steady since the mid-19th century, the increasing length of those wars has resulted in increasing numbers of wars ongoing at any one time. For example, there were no more than five civil wars underway simultaneously in the first half of the 20th century while there were over 20 concurrent civil wars close to the end of the Cold War. Since 1945, civil wars have resulted in the deaths of over 25 million people, as well as the forced displacement of millions more. Civil wars have further resulted in economic collapse; Somalia, Burma (Myanmar), Uganda and Angola are examples of nations that were considered to have promising futures before being engulfed in civil wars.

Civil War (stylized as C I V I L W A R) is the fourth album by the Minneapolis, Minnesota punk rock band Dillinger Four, released on October 14, 2008 by Fat Wreck Chords. It is the band's second album for Fat, following 2002's Situationist Comedy. Its recording and production took place over several years, and its release date was pushed back several times. An early internet leak of the album was the source of some controversy.

Civil War is a 2006– 2007 Marvel Comics crossover story line built around a seven-issue limited series of the same name written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, which ran through various other titles published by Marvel at the time. The story line builds upon the events that developed in previous Marvel crossovers, particularly Avengers Disassembled, House of M, and Decimation. The tagline for the series is, "Whose Side Are You On?"

The plot of the series follows a framework story line in which the U.S. government passes a Superhero Registration Act ostensibly designed to have super powered individuals act under official regulation, somewhat akin to law enforcement. However, superheroes opposed to the act, led by Captain America, find themselves in conflict with those supporting the act, led by Iron Man, with Spider-Man caught in the middle; the X-Men take a neutral stance. The superheroes in support of the law, such as Iron Man, Dr. Reed Richards, and Ms. Marvel, become increasingly authoritarian. In the aftermath of the war, Captain America surrenders and is imprisoned. The conflict between freedom and security is an underlying theme in the story line, with real-life events and discussions, such as the U.S. government's increased surveillance of its citizens, serving as a backdrop for the events in Civil War. A sequel, Civil War II, debuted in June 2016.

The series received polarized reviews but was a commercial success. The series is the basis for the Marvel Studios film Captain America: Civil War, which likewise features Captain America and Iron Man in opposition to each other.

Civil War is an early strategic board wargame, produced by Avalon Hill, in 1961. Designed by Wargaming Hall of Fame designer Charles S. Roberts, it was issued to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the American Civil War, along with the tactical games Gettysburg and Chancellorsville.

The game included a heavy cardstock game board, a rules sheet, advertisements for other AH games, and a pamphlet on the historical setting. There were two cardboard trays with sixteen blue plastic pawns, nine red pawns and one six-sided die.

The game board displays the eastern part of the United States from Missouri to Pennsylvania and eastern Texas at the top to northern Florida on the lower half. The map itself is white, with blue rivers, black railroads, brown rough terrain, and various cities and ports.

Six of the blue Union army pawns begin on the board, as well as six of the red Confederate States Army pawns. Reinforcements arrive much faster for the Union, with a total of fifteen pawns eventually in play versus nine for the Confederates.

Each game turn represents a month of time (1861 through 1865). Only one pawn may occupy a square at a time, and all pawns may move 1 or 2 hexes per turn, plus a bonus of 8 hexes if using the railroads.

Union pawns may move 8 hexes via rivers or the sea, while the Confederate pawns may only use rivers (and only get 2 hexes for that movement). All, any or none of the pawns may move each turn.

Combat is resolved using a combat results table found on the gameboard. Certain terrain features double the defensive benefit. The goal is to capture or dispute control of reinforcement centers.

Civil War is a power metal band from Falun, Sweden formed in 2012 by several former members of Sabaton. The band adopted the same lyrical themes of war and historical battles that were characteristic of Sabaton.