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Glite Dictionary
Civil List

Civil List

9.9
Parliament gives money each year to pay official costs of the British royal family
  • noun
  • /ˈsɪvəl lɪst/
  • Archaic
translation icon : Lista Civil
  • During Queen Victoria's reign, the Civil List was a subject of frequent parliamentary debate.

Examples

  • Reforms in the 21st century led to the replacement of the Civil List by the Sovereign Grant.

  • The Civil List historically funded not only the royal household but also certain public services.

  • The Civil List is important.

  • What is the Civil List?

  • The Civil List allocates funds annually to support the official expenses of the British royal family.

  • In Parliament, discussions often focus on how the Civil List influences the budgeting for royal expenses.

  • Many citizens are unaware of the details that the Civil List covers for royal duties and functions.

Surface Forms

Civil List singular
Civil Lists plural

Morphology

civil + list

“Civil List” is an institutional, historical term for a specific parliamentary allowance to the royal household; this specialized meaning is not directly deducible from 'civil' (relating to public affairs) and 'list' (a sequence of items). Because the phrase is lexicalized and denotes a particular legal/financial institution rather than a literal list or general civil matter, a B1 learner knowing the constituents would not reliably infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

The phrase Civil List comes from when Parliament kept a paper list of the civil costs the state agreed to pay for the king or queen, meaning everyday expenses rather than the army. So today Civil List means the money set aside to pay the official expenses of the royal household.