civic spirit
1
4.9
- noun
- /ˈsɪvɪk ˈspɪrɪt/
:
espíritu cívico
- Volunteers showed their civic spirit by cleaning up the neighborhood and planting flowers in public spaces.
Examples
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As intense and nerve-racking as it is, Election Day always brings a sense of civic spirit, with folks Instagramming their "I voted" stickers and dressing their poor pets in red, white, and blue sweaters.
Blog text (1) -
Albert Hirschman once wrote of moral resources, including civic spirit and trust: "These are resources whose supply may well increase rather than decrease through use."
Academic text (1993) -
Civic spirit must be rooted in the soil, so to speak.
Academic text (1993) -
The contract was legally in order, but it also gives the lively impression that someone who could demand such a contract, even with the law behind him, had to be inspired by a minimum of civic spirit.
Academic text (1996) -
By connecting the young and old, intergenerational programs can strengthen the building blocks of civil society and revive the civic spirit in America.
Academic text (1998) -
Lesser men who now participated in the fighting might expect to participate more in public life and would accordingly develop the kind of civic spirit crucial to citizenship in a polis.
Academic text (1995) -
The Virginia Anti-Federalist, "Denatus," for example, argued that the "first or second article" of the Constitution ought to have provided for the establishment of academies aimed to educate citizens "in the principles of morality, religion, jurisprudence, and the art of war." The laws, in this view, needed to be supplemented by schools for the fuller shaping of civic spirit.
Academic text (2001) -
During the town hall meeting, residents expressed their civic spirit by discussing ways to improve the local park.
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The community came together to organize a charity event, demonstrating a strong civic spirit and dedication to helping those in need.
Synonyms
3
3.6
A feeling of wanting to care for and support your city
3
2.9
A feeling that makes people feel they belong and help each other
How Committed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is compositionally derived from 'civic' (relating to city/community duties) + 'spirit' (attitude/essence), so a learner who knows both words can infer an attitude of pride and responsibility toward the community. This adjective+noun pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common (e.g. Spanish 'espíritu cívico', French 'esprit civique'), so the expression is predictable for B1 learners.
Etymology
The phrase civic spirit paints a picture of neighbours working together to clean a street or help at a local event. Here civic means the city or community and spirit means the energy that moves people, so it refers to 'pride and responsibility' that makes people help their community.