Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “society” come from?

Society comes from Old French societé, from Latin societas (association of people), derived from socius (companion), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root sekʷ- meaning to follow.

society (English): A long-standing group of people sharing cultural...

Definitions

  1. A long-standing group of people sharing cultural...

Ancestry of “society”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchsocietésociety
2Old Frenchsocietésociety; association; council; group; society;...
3Latinsocietās—
4Latinsociussharing, joining in, partaking, associated;...
5Ancient Greekπάθοςpain, suffering, death; misfortune, calamity,...
6Ancient Greekπάσχωto undergo, experience; have someone do something...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰendʰ-to bind; bond

Words derived from “society”

  • societal
  • societally
  • intersocietal
  • societywide
  • intrasocietal
  • cybersociety
  • antisociety
  • intersociety
  • extrasocietal
  • supersociety
  • technosociety
  • intersocietally
  • megasociety
  • e-society
  • infosociety
  • 十三點
  • sosaiti
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰendʰ- →