civil year

1.4

The year that starts on January 1 and ends on December 31 in the Gregorian calendar

noun

: año civil

The civil year begins on January 1.

Examples

The duration of holidays may vary depending on whether they follow the civil year or a religious calendar.
The civil year begins on January 1 and ends on December 31, according to the Gregorian calendar.
Unlike the academic year, the civil year corresponds to the standard calendar used in most countries.
Many countries follow the civil year for their fiscal planning.
The civil year in most countries follows the Gregorian calendar, starting on January 1 and ending on December 31.
For tax purposes, the government requires all income to be reported for the civil year from January 1 to December 31.
In the civil year, festivals and holidays are scheduled around the months of January through December.

Synonyms

year

vscivil year

∞ 1.0

A period of months used for a specific activity like school or company accounts

is a fixed January to December span used for official state purposes

calendar year

vscivil year

16 1.0

A period of twelve months that starts on January 1 and ends on December 31

is the same twelve-month span but used for official state purposes

Surface Forms

civil year singular

civil years plural

Morphology

civil + year

The meaning 'the year from January 1 to December 31 used for civil purposes' is directly derivable from combining 'civil' (relating to public/citizen affairs) with 'year' (a calendar twelve-month span). This is a compositional, language-neutral concept found in many languages (e.g., French année civile, Spanish año civil), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.

Etymology

Civil year comes from the idea of a civil or public year that runs from January 1 to December 31. So, because governments use this 'official' calendar for records, taxes and holidays, civil year means the standard year used for public and everyday affairs.