Wiktionary

social

See also: sociál

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ-
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷéh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-ṓy
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷh₂ṓy
Proto-Indo-European *-yós
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷyós
Proto-Italic *sokjos
Latin sokios
Latin socius
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?
Proto-Italic *-ālis
Latin -ālis
Latin sociālisbor.
Middle French socialbor.
English social

    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

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    Adjective

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    social (comparative more social, superlative most social)

    2. 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.
    4. Of or relating to society.
      • 2012 January, Donald Worster, “A Drier and Hotter Future”, in American Scientist‎[1], volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 26 January 2012, 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.
    6. (Internet) Relating to social media or social networks.
      social gaming
    8. (rare) Relating to a nation's allies.
      the Social War
    10. (biology) Cooperating or growing in groups.
      a social insect

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    Translations

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    Noun

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    social (countable and uncountable, plural socials)

    1. A festive gathering to foster introductions.
      They organized a social at the dance club to help people get to know one another.
    2. (Canadian Prairies) A dance held to raise money, often held for a couple to be married.
    3. (UK, colloquial, with definite article) Ellipsis of social security.
      Fred hated going down to the social to sign on.
    5. (US, colloquial) Ellipsis of social security number.
      What's your social? [asked so that the asker can look up your account details]
    6. (dated, Ireland) A dinner dance event, usually held annually by a company or sporting club.
    7. (Canada) Ellipsis of social studies.
    9. (Internet, informal, uncountable) Ellipsis of social media.
      • 2023 January 31, Casey Newton, quoting Kevin Systrom, “Instagram’s co-founders are back with Artifact, a kind of TikTok for text”, in The Verge‎[2], archived from the original on 2 April 2024:
        “I saw that shift, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s the future of social,’” Systrom said.
    10. (Internet, informal, countable) A social media account; the username or handle thereof, or a link thereto.
      Also check out some other experts in this topic — their socials are in the pinned comment below.
      • 2019 August 29, “Cheeto Christ Stupid Czar”, Randy Rainbow (lyrics), Andrew Lloyd Webber (music)‎[3]performed by Randy Rainbow:
        Close your mouth and delete all your socials tonight.
      • 2025 May 13, Richard Fausset, “The Pope’s Florida Brother, a MAGA Disciple, Plans to ‘Tone It Down’”, in The New York Times‎[4], →ISSN, archived from the original on 14 May 2025:
        Nearly a week after the Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost became Pope Leo XIV, the world is still adjusting to the fact that he has an American family that does typically American things. The Borgias, for all their many sins, never posted crude or spicy memes to the socials.

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    Anagrams

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    Asturian

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    Etymology

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    From Latin sociālis.

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /soˈθjal/ [soˈθjal]
    • Rhymes: -al
    • Syllabification: so‧cial

    Adjective

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    social (epicene, plural sociales)

    1. social

    Catalan

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    Etymology

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    Borrowed from Latin sociālis. First attested in 1803.[1]

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    Adjective

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    social m or f (masculine and feminine plural socials)

    1. social

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    References

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    1. ^ “social”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026

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    Chinese

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    Alternative forms

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    Etymology

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    From English social or Clipping of English socialize or English sociable.

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    social

    1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) social; sociable; outgoing

    Verb

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    social

    1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to socialize (to interact with others)

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    Danish

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    Etymology

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    From French social, from Latin sociālis (“concerning a partner or an ally”), an adjective derived from the noun socius (“partner, ally”).

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    • IPA(key): [soˈɕæˀl], [ɕoˈɕæˀl]

    Adjective

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    social (neuter socialt, plural and definite singular attributive sociale)

    1. social
    2. sociable

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    French

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    Etymology

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

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      social (feminine 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
        • 1922, Marcel Proust, Fugitive:
          Était-ce parce que la vie sociale de Gilberte devait présenter les mêmes contrastes que celle de Swann ?
          (please add an English translation of this quotation)

      Synonyms

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      Descendants

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      • → Dutch: sociaal
        • Afrikaans: sosiaal
        • → Indonesian: sosial
      • → Romanian: social
      • → Turkish: sosyal

      Noun

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      social m (plural sociaux)

      1. action intended to make society work better
        faire du social. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

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      Galician

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      Etymology

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      Learned borrowing from Latin sociālis.

      Pronunciation

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      • IPA(key): (standard) /sɔˈθjal/ [s̺ɔˈθjɑɫ]
      • IPA(key): (seseo) /sɔˈsjal/ [sɔˈsjɑɫ]

      • Rhymes: -al
      • Hyphenation: so‧cial

      Adjective

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      social m or f (plural sociais)

      1. social

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      Italian

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      Etymology

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      Ellipsis of social network.

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      Noun

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      social m

      1. social network
        • 2019 October 1, “Zuckerberg è pronto alla battaglia contro Warren e TikTok (e Facebook non perde utenti)”, in Corriere della Sera‎[5]:
          TikTok è sia la prima piattaforma cinese a imporsi nel resto del mondo sia l’unico social a ottenere numeri finora inanellati solo da Menlo Park (500 milioni di utenti), eppure non sembra causare particolari grattacapi.
          (please add an English translation of this quotation)
      2. (in the plural) social media
        postare sui social ― to post on social media
        • 2018 January 25, ““Un inconveniente tecnico”: il tweet di Trenord fa infuriare i social, poi le scuse”, in La Stampa‎[6]:
          «Circolazione interrotta tra Treviglio e Milano a causa di un inconveniente tecnico a un treno»: è il tweet di Trenord delle 8.09 che ha fatto infuriare i social dopo il deragliamento a Seggiano di Pioltello.
          (please add an English translation of this quotation)

      Anagrams

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      Middle French

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      Etymology

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

        Adjective

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        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

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        References

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        1. ^ Etymology and history of “social”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

        Occitan

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        Alternative forms

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        Etymology

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        From Latin sociālis.

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

        1. social (relating to society)

        Piedmontese

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        social

        1. social

        Portuguese

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        Etymology

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        From Latin sociālis. By surface analysis, sócio +‎ -al.

        Pronunciation

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        • (Brazil) IPA(key): /so.siˈaw/ [so.sɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /soˈsjaw/ [soˈsjaʊ̯]
         

        Adjective

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        social m or f (plural sociais)

        1. social (relating to society)
        2. (business) social (relating to business firms)
        3. (clothing, said of clothes) formal, suitable for social occasions
        4. social; outgoing; extroverted
          Synonyms: sociável, extrovertido
          Antonym: associal
        5. (ecology) social (living in large groups)
        6. (Brazil) for use by the residents of an apartment block, as opposed to maintenance workers or deliverymen
          Elevador social. ― Residents’ lift.

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        Noun

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        social m or f (plural sociais)

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

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        Romanian

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        Etymology

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        Borrowed from French social.

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

        1. social (of or relating to society)

        Declension

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        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

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        Etymology

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

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        social m or f (masculine and feminine plural sociales)

        1. social

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        Swedish

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        Pronunciation

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        • IPA(key): /sosiˈɑːl/, /soˈɧɑːl/
        • Audio:(file)

        Adjective

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        social (comparative mer social, superlative mest social)

        1. (not comparable) social, pertaining to living conditions and society (of an issue)
        2. social, kind, friendly, welcoming, outgoing (of a person)
          Synonyms: utåtriktad, sällskaplig, föreningsintresserad

        Declension

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        Inflection of social
        Indefinite positive comparative superlative1
        common singular social mer social mest social
        neuter singular socialt mer socialt mest socialt
        plural sociala mer sociala mest sociala
        masculine plural2 sociale mer sociala mest sociala
        Definite positive comparative superlative
        masculine singular3 sociale mer sociale mest sociale
        all sociala mer sociala mest sociala

        1 The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
        2 Dated or archaic.
        3 Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

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        References

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