Are you referring to Merriam-Webster, the whore of the dictionary world? They'll open up and let any meaning in...I believe the current use of the term dates back many decades. So much so that Websters had modified their definition.
It's an easy word to use to describe non LEO and non firefighters in instances where it is appropriate to differentiate between them. There is no malice or ill intent behind it as some are taking it.
I suppose but it still infers an "us versus them" mentality and a separate class structure. Let's just stop the divisions: we are all civilians under civil law. Now let's all hold hand and sing...