social

English Online Dictionary. What means social‎? What does social mean?

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): /ˈsəʊ.ʃəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsoʊ.ʃəl/
• Rhymes: -əʊʃəl

Adjective

social (comparative more social, superlative most social)

2. Being extroverted or outgoing.
4. Of or relating to society.

6. (Internet) Relating to social media or social networks.

8. (rare) Relating to a nation's allies.

   the Social War

10. (biology) Cooperating or growing in groups.

Antonyms

• antisocial
• unsocial
• asocial

Derived terms

Related terms

• sociality
• societal

Translations

Noun

social (countable and uncountable, plural socials)

1. A festive gathering to foster introductions.

2. (Canadian Prairies) A dance held to raise money, often held for a couple to be married.
3. (British, colloquial, with definite article) Ellipsis of social security.

4. (US, colloquial) Ellipsis of social security number.

5. (dated, Ireland) A dinner dance event, usually held annually by a company or sporting club.
6. (Canada) Ellipsis of social studies.
7. (Internet, informal, uncountable) Ellipsis of social media.
8. (Internet, informal, countable) A social media account; the username or handle thereof, or a link thereto.

Derived terms

• dark social

Translations

References

• “social”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “social”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “social”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present, retrieved 15 July 2017, reproduced from Collins English Dictionary: Complete & Unabridged, digital edition, [London]: HarperCollins, 2012.

Anagrams

• scolia

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin sociālis.

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

social (epicene, plural sociales)

1. social

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sociālis. First attested in 1803.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [su.siˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [so.siˈal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: so‧ci‧al

Adjective

social m or f (masculine and feminine plural socials)

1. social

Derived terms

Related terms

• soci

References

Further reading

• “social”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April
• “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.

Chinese

Alternative forms

• so so

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Adjective

social

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

Verb

social

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

References

• English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese
• Robert S. Bauer (2010) “The Graphemic Representation of English Loanwords in Cantonese”, in Dialects in South East China, number 24, →JSTOR, pages 227-246

Danish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [soˈɕæˀl], [ɕoˈɕæˀl]

Adjective

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

1. social
2. sociable

Further reading

• “social” in Den Danske Ordbog
• “social” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

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
• Homophones: sociale, sociales

Adjective

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

Synonyms

• grégaire

Antonyms

• antisocial
• asocial

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

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

Noun

social m (plural sociaux)

1. action intended to make society work better

   faire du social. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Further reading

• “social”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin sociālis.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: so‧cial

Adjective

social m or f (plural sociais)

1. social

Derived terms

• socializar
• socialmente

Further reading

• “social”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

Italian

Etymology

Ellipsis of social network.

Noun

social m

1. social network
2. (in the plural) social media

   postare sui social ― to post on social media

Anagrams

• Alciso, lascio, lasciò, licosa, olisca, salcio, salico, scialo, scialo-, scialò, scolai, solcai

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
• 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)

Occitan

Alternative forms

• sociau (Gascony)

Etymology

From Latin sociālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [suˈsjal]

Adjective

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

1. social (relating to society)

Piedmontese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /suˈt͡ʃal/

Adjective

social

1. social

Portuguese

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: so‧ci‧al

Adjective

social m or f (plural sociais)

1. social (relating to society)
2. (business) social (relating to business firms)
3. social; outgoing; extroverted

   Synonyms: sociável, extrovertido

   Antonym: associal

4. (ecology) social (living in large groups)
5. (Brazil) for use by the residents of an apartment block, as opposed to maintenance workers or deliverymen

   Elevador social. ― Residents’ lift.

Derived terms

Related terms

• sócio

Noun

social m or 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

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

Further reading

• “social”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

Spanish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /soˈθjal/ [soˈθjal]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /soˈsjal/ [soˈsjal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: so‧cial

Adjective

social m or f (masculine and feminine plural sociales)

1. social

Derived terms

Further reading

• “social”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sosiˈɑːl/, /soˈɧɑːl/

Adjective

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

Related terms

References

• social in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• social in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)