The quality or state of being civilized; the degree to which a person or society has developed culture, refinement, and orderly conduct.
From 'civilized' (past participle of 'civilize,' from French 'civiliser') plus the suffix '-ness' denoting state or condition. The root comes from Latin 'civilis' meaning 'of citizens' and ultimately from 'civis' meaning 'citizen.'
This word shows how English loves stacking suffixes—we take 'civil,' add '-ize' to make it a verb, add '-ed' to make it an adjective, then add '-ness' to make it a noun. By the time we're done, the word is almost unrecognizable from its Latin ancestor 'civis,' yet the meaning never left: it's always been about being a good citizen.
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