# 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: /ˈsəʊ.ʃəl/
* (US) IPA: /ˈsoʊ.ʃəl/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -əʊʃəl

### Adjective

social (comparative more social, superlative most social)
* 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.
* Of or relating to society.
** 2012 January, Donald Worster, “A Drier and Hotter Future”, in American Scientist‎, 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.
* (Internet) Relating to social media or social networks.
    social gaming
* (rare) Relating to a nation's allies.
    the Social War
* (biology) Cooperating or growing in groups.
    a social insect

#### Antonyms

* antisocial
* unsocial
* asocial

#### Derived terms

* anti-social
* anti-social personality disorder
* biosocial
* box social
* chronosocial
* corporate social responsibility
* cybersocial
* dissocial
* dissocialize
* ecosocial
* ethnosocial
* eusocial
* extrasocial
* geosocial
* heterosocial
* homosocial
* hypersocial
* ice-cream social
* ice cream social
* intersocial
* macrosocial
* medicosocial
* microsocial
* necktie social
* nonsocial
* parasocial
* physicosocial
* presocial
* prosocial
* pseudosocial
* psychosocial
* quasisocial
* semisocial
* shadow social
* socdem
* sociable
* social action
* social alienation
* social anthropologist
* social anthropology
* social anxiety
* social anxiety disorder
* social atom
* social autopsy
* social battery
* social bookmarking
* social butterfly
* social capital
* social circle
* social class
* social climber
* social climbing
* social club
* social cohesion
* social collaboration
* social collapse
* social column
* social columnist
* social commentary
* social commerce
* social compact
* social conditioning
* social conflict paradigm
* social conscience
* social conservatism
* social conservative
* social construct
* social constructionism
* social contagion
* social contract
* social control
* social coupon
* social credit
* social creditism
* social cue
* social Darwinism
* social death
* social democracy
* social democrat
* social democratic
* social disease
* social distance
* social distancing
* social drinker
* social dynamics
* social eating
* social ecology
* social engineer
* social engineering
* social entrepreneur
* social entrepreneurship
* social envy
* social event
* social evil
* social evolutionism
* social fascism
* social fascist
* social function
* social grace
* social graph
* social group
* social hangover
* social history
* social housing
* social hygiene
* social immunity
* social imperialism
* social infertility
* social informatics
* social insect
* social insurance
* social insurance number
* socialise
* social isolation
* social issue
* socialist
* socialite
* socialization
* socialize
* social jet lag
* social justice
* social justice warrior
* social-justice warrior
* social ladder
* social landlord
* social liberal
* social liberalism
* social life
* social listening
* social loafing
* social lubricant
* socially
* social marginality
* social media
* social media intelligence
* social medium
* social mobility
* social movement
* social murder
* socialness
* social network
* social networking
* social nicety
* social notworking
* social occasion
* social order
* social orphan
* social outcast
* social partnership
* social pattern
* social phobia
* social physics
* social piranha
* social policy
* social power
* socialpreneur
* social profile
* social programming
* social project management
* social promotion
* social proof
* social psychology
* social realism
* social recession
* social recruiting
* social responsibility
* social safety net
* socialscape
* social science
* social scientist
* social season
* social secretary
* social security
* social service
* social services
* social sharing
* social skills
* social smoker
* social standing
* social station
* social status
* social stigma
* social studies
* social supermarket
* social tariff
* social trading
* social unit
* social valence
* social wasp
* social weaverbird
* social welfare
* social whale
* social work
* social worker
* SOCMINT
* subsocial
* supersocial
* technosocial
* ultrasocial

#### Related terms

* sociality
* societal

#### Translations
### Noun

social (countable and uncountable, plural socials)
* A festive gathering to foster introductions.
    They organized a social at the dance club to get people to know each other.
* (Canadian Prairies) A dance held to raise money, often held for a couple to be married.
* (British, colloquial, with definite article) Ellipsis of social security.
    Fred hated going down to the social to sign on.
* (US, colloquial) Ellipsis of social security number.
    What's your social? [asked so that the asker can look up your account details]
* (dated, Ireland) A dinner dance event, usually held annually by a company or sporting club.
* (Canada) Ellipsis of social studies.
* (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:“I saw that shift, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s the future of social,’” Systrom said.
* (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)‎performed by Randy Rainbow:Close your mouth and delete all your socials tonight.

#### Derived terms

* dark social

#### Translations
### References

* “social”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* “social”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →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: /soˈθjal/ [soˈθjal]
* Rhymes: -al
* Hyphenation: so‧cial

### Adjective

social (epicene, plural sociales)
* social

## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sociālis. First attested in 1803.

### Pronunciation

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

### Adjective

social m or f (masculine and feminine plural socials)
* social

#### Derived terms

* antisocial
* asocial
* ciència social
* classe social
* distanciació social
* distanciament social
* politicosocial
* socialdemocràcia
* socialdemòcrata
* socialisme
* socialista
* socialitzar
* socialment
* xarxa social

#### Related terms

* soci

### References

* ↑ “social”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025

### Further reading

* “social” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “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

* Cantonese (Jyutping): sou$^1$ sou$^4$ / sou$^1$ sou$^2$
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: sou$^1$ sou$^4$ / sou$^1$ sou$^2$
*** Yale: sōu sòuh / sōu sóu
*** Cantonese Pinyin: sou$^1$ sou$^4$ / sou$^1$ sou$^2$
*** Guangdong Romanization: sou$^1$ sou$^4$ / sou$^1$ sou$^2$
*** Sinological IPA : /sou̯⁵⁵ sou̯²¹/, /sou̯⁵⁵ sou̯³⁵/

### Adjective

social
* (Hong Kong Cantonese) social; sociable; outgoing

### Verb

social
* (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: [soˈɕæˀl], [ɕoˈɕæˀl]

### Adjective

social (neuter socialt, plural and definite singular attributive sociale)
* social
* 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: /sɔ.sjal/
* Hyphenation: so‧cial
* Audio (Paris):(file)
* Homophones: sociale, sociales

### Adjective

social (feminine sociale, masculine plural sociaux, feminine plural sociales)
* social, related to society, community
    Un devoir social. ― A social obligation.
* social, living in society
    l’homme est un animal social. ― Man is a social animal.
* 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

* grégaire

#### Antonyms

* antisocial
* asocial

#### Derived terms

* anxiété sociale
* bailleur social
* cas social
* classe sociale
* contrat social
* crédit social
* distanciation sociale
* justice sociale
* logement social
* réseau social
* sécurité sociale
* siège social
* social-démocrate
* social-démocratie
* socialement
* socialisant
* socialisation
* socialiser
* socialisme
* socialiste
* socialité
* socialo
* statut social
* vie sociale

#### Related terms

* sociétaire
* sociétal
* société
* socio-

#### Descendants

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

### Noun

social m (plural sociaux)
* 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

* IPA: /sɔˈθjal/ [s̺ɔˈθjɑɫ]
* IPA: (standard) /sɔˈθjal/ [s̺ɔˈθjɑɫ]
* IPA: (seseo) /sɔˈsjal/ [sɔˈsjɑɫ]
* Rhymes: -al
* Hyphenation: so‧cial

### Adjective

social m or f (plural sociais)
* 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
* social network
** 2019 October 1, “Zuckerberg è pronto alla battaglia contro Warren e TikTok (e Facebook non perde utenti)”, in Corriere della Sera‎: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)
* (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:«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

* 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)
* allied (on the same side)
* social (tending to spend time with others)

#### Descendants

* → English: social
* French: social

### References

* ↑ Etymology and history of “social”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
* 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: [suˈsjal]
* Audio (Languedoc):(file)

### Adjective

social m (feminine singular sociala, masculine plural socials, feminine plural socialas)
* social (relating to society)

## Piedmontese
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /suˈt͡ʃal/

### Adjective

social
* social

## Portuguese
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /so.siˈaw/ [so.sɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /soˈsjaw/ [soˈsjaʊ̯]
* (Portugal) IPA: /suˈsjal/ [suˈsjaɫ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /suˈsjal/ [suˈsjaɫ]
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /suˈsja.li/
* Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
* Hyphenation: so‧ci‧al

### Adjective

social m or f (plural sociais)
* social (relating to society)
* (business) social (relating to business firms)
* social; outgoing; extroverted
    Synonyms: sociável, extrovertido
    Antonym: associal
* (ecology) social (living in large groups)
* (Brazil) for use by the residents of an apartment block, as opposed to maintenance workers or deliverymen
    Elevador social. ― Residents’ lift.

#### Derived terms

* antissocial
* associal
* bateria social
* socializar
* socialmente
* vida social

#### Related terms

* sócio

### Noun

social m or f (plural sociais)
* (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: /ˌso.t͡ʃiˈal/

### Adjective

social m or n (feminine singular socială, masculine plural sociali, feminine and neuter plural sociale)
* social (of or relating to society)

#### Declension
### Further reading

* social in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

## Spanish
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

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

### Adjective

social m or f (masculine and feminine plural sociales)
* social

#### Derived terms

* agente social
* ansiedad social
* antisocial
* asistencia social
* asistente social
* asocial
* capital social
* centro social
* ciencia social
* clase social
* cohesión social
* contacto social
* darwinismo social
* diálogo social
* distanciamiento social
* domicilio social
* exclusión social
* fobia social
* gasto social
* grupo social
* juego de deducción social (“social deduction game”)
* justicia social
* medios sociales
* obra social
* presión social
* prestación social
* psicología social
* razón social
* red social
* resentimiento social
* seguridad social
* seguro social
* socialmente
* tejido social
* trabajador social
* trastorno de ansiedad social

### 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: /sosiˈɑːl/, /soˈɧɑːl/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

social (comparative mer social, superlative mest social)
* (not comparable) social, pertaining to living conditions and society (of an issue)
* social, kind, friendly, welcoming, outgoing (of a person)
    Synonyms: utåtriktad, sällskaplig, föreningsintresserad

#### Declension

$^1$ 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.

#### Related terms

* antisocial
* asocial
* social distansering
* socialbidrag
* socialdarwinism
* socialdemokrat
* socialdepartement
* socialfall
* socialfond
* socialförsäkring
* socialisering
* socialism
* socialist
* socialkontor
* socialminister
* socialrealism

### References

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