civil engineering vs. public works

English translation: Yes, but

08:14 Jan 29, 2003

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Tech/Engineering / - branch names

English term or phrase: civil engineering vs. public works

Are these synonymous?
Obviously,
"engineering" implies 'desgin';
"works" implies 'physical building work';
"public" implies 'funded by the state'.

But to they have the same **scope** -- roads, bridges, amenities, etc?

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Encarta® 99 Desk Encyclopedia © & ? 1987-1998

Civil engineering is perhaps the broadest of the engineering fields. It deals with the creation, improvement, and protection of the communal environment, by providing facilities for living, industry, transport, and other constructions. The civil engineer must have a thorough knowledge of all types of surveying, of the properties and mechanics of construction materials, of the mechanics of structures and soils, and of hydraulics and fluid mechanics.

Valters Feists KudoZ activity Questions: 39 (none open) (1 without valid answers) Answers: 665 Latvia
Local time: 09:48

Selected answer:Yes, but

Explanation:
Yes they are synonymous, but for me (British) "public works" has the additional quite separate meaning of philanthropic works, which may have nothing to do with infrastructure, or even building. In the 19th C this meaning of "public works" might be for example caring for the poor, more recently it might be sponsoring culture.

Selected response from:

Chris Rowson (X)
Local time: 08:48

Grading comment

Thanks Chris and Fuad.

Valters
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

5 +8

One is a science or professional discipline or practice. . .

Fuad Yahya

4 +2

Yes, but

Chris Rowson (X)

Answers

13 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

Yes, but

Chris Rowson (X)
Local time: 08:48
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in pair: 243

Grading comment

Thanks Chris and Fuad.

Valters

14 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +8

One is a science or professional discipline or practice. . .

Explanation:
. . . while "public works" is a term that covers either the domain of activities covered by civil engineers or, often, a local governement department that takes care of projects that are typically the domain of civil engineers.

Put differently, a civil engineer is an engineer "trained in the design and construction of public works, such as bridges or dams, and other large facilities" (American Heritage Dictionary).

To construct a loose analogy, the difference between the two terms is like the difference between "ethics" and "morality."

Fuad

Fuad Yahya
Native speaker of:

Arabic,

English
PRO pts in pair: 893

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