social

English

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

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsəʊʃəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsoʊ.ʃəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊʃəl

Noun

social (countable and uncountable, 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.

   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.
6. (Canada) Clipping of social studies.

Translations

festive gathering to foster introductions

• Finnish: tutustumistilaisuus

short for social security benefit

• Finnish: sossu (fi)

• Norwegian: sosialen

short for social security number

• Finnish: sotu (fi), hetu (fi)

Adjective

social (comparative more social, superlative most social)

1. Being extroverted or outgoing.

   James is a very social guy; he knows lots of people.

   • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chapter 1:

     Not ignoring what is good, I am quick to perceive a horror, and could still be social with it—would they let me—since it is but well to be on friendly terms with all the inmates of the place one lodges in.

2. Of or relating to society.
   • 2012 January 1, Donald Worster, “A Drier and Hotter Future”, in American Scientist‎^[1], 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.

   the Social War

5. (botany, zoology) Cooperating or growing in groups.

   a social insect

Antonyms

• antisocial
• unsocial
• asocial

Derived terms

Terms derived from social (adjective)

• biosocial
• parasocial
• presocial
• pseudosocial
• psychosocial
• quasisocial
• semisocial
• social butterfly
• social capital
• social class
• social climber
• social cohesion
• social collaboration
• social collapse

• social commentary
• social conscience
• social conservative
• social construct
• social democrat
• social entrepreneurship
• social function
• social grace
• social ladder
• social life
• social media
• social mobility
• social network
• social outcast

• social psychology
• social safety net
• social security
• social science
• social status
• social studies
• social trading
• social work
• social worker
• sociable
• socialist
• subsocial

Related terms

• sociality
• societal

Translations

extroverted or outgoing

• Czech: společenský (cs)
• Finnish: ulospäinsuuntautunut (fi), ekstrovertti (fi), sosiaalinen (fi)
• Galician: social
• German: kontaktfreudig (de), gesellig (de)
• Greek: κοινωνικός (el) (koinonikós)
• Hungarian: társasági (hu), szociális (hu)
• Italian: sociale (it), socievole (it), estroverso (it)
• Norwegian: sosial (no)

• Polish: towarzyski (pl)
• Portuguese: social (pt)
• Russian: общи́тельный (ru) (obščítelʹnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: sòisealta, caidreamhach
• Swedish: social (sv)
• Tagalog: ulnungin
• Telugu: సాంఘిక (sāṅghika)

relating to society

• Arabic: مُجْتَمَعِيّ‎ (mujtamaʿiyy)
• Asturian: social
• Bashkir: социаль (sotsial’)
• Catalan: social (ca)
• Czech: společenský (cs), sociální (cs)
• Dutch: sociaal (nl), maatschappelijk (nl)
• Esperanto: sociala
• Finnish: yhteiskunnallinen (fi), yhteiskunta- (fi), sosiaalinen (fi), sosiaali- (fi)
• French: social (fr)
• Galician: social
• German: sozial (de), Sozial-, gesellschaftlich (de)
• Greek: κοινωνικός (el) m (koinonikós)
• Hungarian: társadalmi (hu), szociális (hu)
• Italian: sociale (it)

• Norwegian: sosial (no)
• Occitan: social
• Persian: اجتماعی‎ (fa) (ejtemâï), سوسیال‎ (fa) (sosiâl)
• Polish: społeczny (pl)
• Portuguese: social (pt)
• Romanian: social (ro)
• Russian: социа́льный (ru) (sociálʹnyj), обще́ственный (ru) (obščéstvennyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: sòisealta
• Sicilian: suciali
• Spanish: social (es)
• Swedish: social (sv)
• Tagalog: panlipunan, ulnungin, ulnayin (social studies), ulnayanin
• Telugu: సాంఘికము (sāṅghikamu)
• Turkish: toplumsal (tr), sosyal (tr)

internet: relating to social media or social networks

• Bashkir: социаль (sotsial’)
• Finnish: sosiaalinen (fi)

• Portuguese: social (pt)

relating to a nation's allies

• Portuguese: social (pt)

zoology: cooperating in groups

• Finnish: yhteiskunta- (fi)
• Portuguese: social (pt)

• Tajik: иҷтимоӣ (tg) (ijtimoyī), ҷамъиятӣ (jamʾiyatī), ҷомеавӣ (jomeavī), сотсиалӣ (sotsialī)

References

• social in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• social in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• “social” in Collins English Dictionary, 10th edition, London: Collins, 2010, →ISBN; reproduced on Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present, retrieved 15 July 2017.

Anagrams

• scolia

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Asturian

Etymology

From Latin sociālis.

Pronunciation

Adjective

social (epicene, plural sociales)

1. social

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin sociālis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /so.siˈal/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /su.siˈal/

Adjective

social (masculine and feminine plural socials)

1. social

Derived terms

• socialitzar
• socialment

Related terms

• soci

Further reading

• “social” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “social” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “social” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “social” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

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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/
• Hyphenation: so‧cial
• (Paris)

  (file)

• Homophones: sociale, sociales

Adjective

social (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

• grégaire

Antonyms

• antisocial
• asocial

Derived terms

• socialement
• socialisant
• socialisation
• socialiser
• socialisme
• socialiste
• socialité
• social-démocrate
• social-démocratie
• socialo

Related terms

• sociétaire
• sociétal
• société
• socio-

Noun

social m (plural sociaux)

1. action intended to make society work better

   faire du social.

Further reading

• “social” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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Galician

Etymology

From Latin sociālis.

Pronunciation

Adjective

social m or f (plural sociais)

1. social

Derived terms

• socializar
• socialmente

Further reading

• “social” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

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Middle French

Etymology

First known attestation 1355, borrowed 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

• English: social (borrowed)
• French: social

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (social, supplement)

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Occitan

Etymology

From Latin sociālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [susjal]

Adjective

social m (feminine singular sociala, masculine plural socials, feminine plural socialas)

1. social (relating to society)

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Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin sociālis.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /su.ˈsjaɫ/
• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /so.ˈsjaw/

Adjective

social m or 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

• (outgoing): sociável, extrovertido

Noun

social m, f (plural sociais)

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

Further reading

• social in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913

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Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French social.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌso.t͡ʃiˈal/

Adjective

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

1. social (of or relating to society)

Declension

declension of social

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	social		socială	sociali	sociale
	definite	socialul		sociala	socialii	socialele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	social		sociale	sociali	sociale
	definite	socialului		socialei	socialilor	socialelor

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Spanish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Castilian) IPA^(key): /soˈθjal/
• (Latin America) IPA^(key): /soˈsjal/
• Hyphenation: so‧cial

Adjective

social (plural sociales)

1. social

Derived terms

• antisocial
• socialmente

Further reading

• “social” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sosiˈɑːl/, /soˈɧɑːl/

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

social (not comparable)

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	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 the predicative.

Related terms

• antisocial
• asocial
• socialbidrag
• socialfall
• socialisering
• socialism
• socialist
• socialkontor

References

• social in Svenska Akademiens ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)
• social in Svenska Akademiens ordbok online.