SOCIETY

society

(noun) an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization

club, social club, society, guild, gild, lodge, order

(noun) a formal association of people with similar interests; “he joined a golf club”; “they formed a small lunch society”; “men from the fraternal order will staff the soup kitchen today”

society, high society, beau monde, smart set, bon ton

(noun) the fashionable elite

company, companionship, fellowship, society

(noun) the state of being with someone; “he missed their company”; “he enjoyed the society of his friends”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

society (countable and uncountable, plural societies)

(countable) A long-standing group of people sharing cultural aspects such as language, dress, norms of behavior and artistic forms.

(countable) A group of people who meet from time to time to engage in a common interest; an association or organization.

(countable) The sum total of all voluntary interrelations between individuals.

(uncountable) The people of one’s country or community taken as a whole.

(uncountable) High society.

(countable, legal) A number of people joined by mutual consent to deliberate, determine and act toward a common goal.

Source: Wiktionary

So*ci"e*ty, n.; pl. Societies. Etym: [L. societas, fr. socius a companion: cf. F. société. See Social.]

1. The relationship of men to one another when associated in any way; companionship; fellowship; company. "Her loved society." Milton. There is society where none intrudes By the deep sea, and music in its roar. Byron.

2. Connection; participation; partnership. [R.] The meanest of the people and such as have the least society with the acts and crimes of kings. Jer. Taylor.

3. A number of persons associated for any temporary or permanent object; an association for mutual or joint usefulness, pleasure, or profit; a social union; a partnership; as, a missionary society.

4. The persons, collectively considered, who live in any region or at any period; any community of individuals who are united together by a common bond of nearness or intercourse; those who recognize each other as associates, friends, and acquaintances.

5. Specifically, the more cultivated portion of any community in its social relations and influences; those who mutually give receive formal entertainments. Society of Jesus. See Jesuit.

– Society verses Etym: [a translation of F. vers de société], the lightest kind of lyrical poetry; verses for the amusement of polite society.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition