society

  • noun (pl. societies) 1 the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community. 2 a particular community of people living in a country or region, and having shared customs, laws, and organizations. 3 (also high society) people who are fashionable, wealthy, and influential, regarded as a distinct social group. 4 an organization or club formed for a particular purpose or activity. 5 the situation of being in the company of other people.

  — DERIVATIVES societal adjective.

  — ORIGIN Latin societas, from socius ‘companion’.

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