society
n. C / Un. a large group of people who live together in an organized way. They often share the same laws, traditions, and way of life.
n. the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community. Often refers to a specific community of people living in a particular country or region and having shared customs, laws, and organizations.
We live in a modern society.
Every member of society has a responsibility to follow the laws that keep the community safe.
The transition from an agrarian to an industrial society fundamentally altered the legal frameworks governing labor and property rights across the continent.
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 *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin societāslbor. Old French societé Middle French societébor. English society Borrowed from Middle French societé, from Old French societé, from Latin societās, societātem (“fellowship, association, alliance, union, community”), from socius (“associated, allied; partner, companion, ally”), from Proto-Indo-European sokʷ-yo- (“companion”), from Proto-Indo-European sekʷ- (“to follow”). First attested in the 1530s.
Uncountable when referring to the general concept of human organization; countable when referring to a specific community or a formal organization.
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mutual admiration society
A group of two or more people, in a workplace or other social environment, who routinely express considerable esteem and support for one another, sometimes to the point of exaggeration or pretense.
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pay one's debt to society
To serve time in prison or a similar correctional facility.