civi-, civ-, cit-

1. A fortress or strongly fortified building in or near a city, used as a place of refuge.
2. An organization or institution which strongly defends a particular way of life or principle.
3. A stronghold or fortified place; a bulwark.
4. Etymology: from 1586, "fortress commanding a city", from Italian cittadella, diminutive (small version) of cittade, "city", from Latin civitatem.

1. A school subject in which students study how government works and what people’s rights, duties, and responsibilities are as citizens.
2. The branch of political science that deals with the study of civic affairs and the rights and duties of citizens.
3. The study of the way in which governments work and of the rights, the privileges, and the obligations of their citizens.