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Webster 1913 Edition

Social

So′cial

,
Adj.
[L.
socialis
, from
socius
a companion; akin to
sequi
to follow: cf. F.
social
. See
Sue
to follow.]
1.
Of or pertaining to society; relating to men living in society, or to the public as an aggregate body;
as,
social
interest or concerns;
social
pleasure;
social
benefits;
social
happiness;
social
duties.
“Social phenomena.”
J. S. Mill.
2.
Ready or disposed to mix in friendly converse; companionable; sociable;
as, a
social
person
.
3.
Consisting in union or mutual intercourse.
Best with thyself accompanied, seek’st not
Social
communication.
Milton.
4.
(Bot.)
Naturally growing in groups or masses; – said of many individual plants of the same species.
5.
(Zool.)
(a)
Living in communities consisting of males, females, and neuters, as do ants and most bees.
(b)
Forming compound groups or colonies by budding from basal processes or stolons;
as, the
social
ascidians
.
Social science
,
the science of all that relates to the social condition, the relations and institutions which are involved in man's existence and his well-being as a member of an organized community; sociology. It concerns itself with questions of the public health, education, labor, punishment of crime, reformation of criminals, and the like.
–
Social whale
(Zool.)
,
the blackfish.
–
The social evil
,
prostitution.
Syn. – Sociable; companionable; conversible; friendly; familiar; communicative; convival; festive.

Webster 1828 Edition

Social

SO'CIAL

,
Adj.
[L. socialis, from socius, companion.]
1.
Pertaining to society; relating to men living in society. or to the publice as an aggregate body; as social interests or concerns; social pleasures; social benefits; social happiness; social duties. True self-love and social are the same.
2.
Ready or disposed to mix in friendly converse; companionable. Withers, adieu? yet not with thee remove thy martial spirit or thy social love.
3.
Consisting in union or mutual converse.
4.
Disposed to unite in society. Man is a social being.

Definition 2024

social

social

English

Noun

social ‎(plural socials)

  1. A festive gathering to foster introductions.
    They organized a social at the dance club to get people to know each other.
  2. (Canadian Prairies) A dance held to raise money for a couple to be married.
  3. (Britain, colloquial) (With definite article) Abbreviation of social security, referring to the UK state welfare system, or of related terms such as Social Security Office or Social Security Benefit.
    Fred hated going down to the social to sign on.
  4. (US, colloquial) Abbreviation of social security number.
    What's your social?
  5. (dated, Ireland) A dinner dance event, usually held annually by a company or sporting club.

Translations

Adjective

social ‎(comparative more social, superlative most social)

  1. Being extroverted or outgoing.
    James is a very social guy; he knows lots of people.
  2. Of or relating to society.
    • 2012 January 1, Donald Worster, “A Drier and Hotter Future”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 70:
      Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force.
    Teresa feels uncomfortable in certain social situations.
    Unemployment is a social problem.
  3. (Internet) Relating to social media or social networks.
    social gaming
  4. (rare) Relating to a nation's allies (compare the Social War)
  5. (botany, zoology) Cooperating or growing in groups.
    a social insect

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: moral · mighty · Hart · #922: social · shown · escape · Mr

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin sociālis.

Adjective

social (epicene, plural sociales)

  1. social

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin sociālis.

Adjective

social m, f ‎(masculine and feminine plural socials)

  1. social

Derived terms

French

Etymology

From Latin sociālis ‎(“of or belonging to a companion, companionship or association, social”), from socius ‎(“a companion, ally”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sɔ.sjal/
  • Homophones: sociale, sociales
  • Hyphenation: so‧cial

Adjective

social m ‎(feminine singular sociale, masculine plural sociaux, feminine plural sociales)

  1. social, related to society, community
    Un devoir social.
    A social obligation.
  2. social, living in society
    l'homme est un animal social.
    Man is a social animal.
  3. mundane, related to social life
    Était-ce parce que la vie sociale de Gilberte devait présenter les mêmes contrastes que celle de Swann ? (Marcel Proust, Fugitive, 1922)

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Noun

social m ‎(plural sociaux)

  1. action intended to make society work better
    faire du social.

Galician

Etymology

From Latin sociālis.

Adjective

social m, f (plural sociais)

  1. social

Derived terms

Middle French

Etymology

First known attestation 1355[1], borrowing from Latin sociālis.

Adjective

social m ‎(feminine singular sociale, masculine plural sociaulx, feminine plural sociales)

  1. allied (on the same side)
  2. social (tending to spend time with others)

Descendants

References

  1. ↑ “social” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
  • (fr) Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (social, supplement)

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin sociālis.

Pronunciation

Adjective

social m, f ‎(plural sociais, comparable)

  1. social (relating to society)
  2. (business) social (relating to business firms)
  3. social; outgoing; extroverted
  4. (ecology) social (living in large groups)
  5. for use by the residents of an apartment block, as opposed to maintenance workers or deliverymen
    Elevador social.‎
    Residents’ lift.

Synonyms

Noun

social m f (plural sociais)

  1. (Brazil, informal) a small party between close people or friends

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from French social.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˌso.t͡ʃiˈal/

Adjective

social m, n ‎(feminine singular socială, masculine plural sociali, feminine and neuter plural sociale)

  1. social (of or relating to society)

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin sociālis ‎(“of or belonging to a companion, companionship or association, social”), from socius ‎(“a companion, ally”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [so̞θi.äl]

Adjective

social m, f ‎(plural sociales)

  1. social

Derived terms

Swedish

Pronunciation

Adjective

social

  1. (not comparable) social, pertaining to living conditions and society (of an issue)
  2. social, kind, friendly, welcoming (of a person)

Declension

Inflection of social
Indefinite/attributive Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular social mer social mest social
Neuter singular socialt mer socialt mest socialt
Plural sociala mer sociala mest sociala
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 sociale mer sociale mest sociale
All sociala mer sociala mest sociala
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in an attributive role.

Related terms

Etymology

From Middle French social, from Latin sociālis ‎(“of or belonging to a companion or companionship or association, social”), from socius ‎(“a companion, fellow, partner, associate, ally”), from sequor ‎(“follow”). Cognate with English seg ‎(“man, companion, fellow”). More at seg.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /səʊʃl̩/
  • Rhymes: -əʊʃəl

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