[so.ci.e.ty] n, pl -ties [MF societe, fr. L societat-, societas, fr. socius companion--more at social] (1531) 1: companionship or association with one's fellows: friendly or intimate intercourse: company
2: a voluntary association of individuals for common ends; esp: an organized group working together or periodically meeting because of common interests, beliefs, or profession 3 a: an enduring and cooperating social group whose members have developed organized patterns of relationships through interaction with one another b: a community, nation, or broad grouping of people having common traditions, institutions, and collective activities and interests
4. a: a part of a community that is a unit distinguishable by particular aims or standards of living or conduct: a social circle or a group of social circles having a clearly marked identity "move in polite ~" "literary ~" b: a part of the community that sets itself apart as a leisure class and that regards itself as the arbiter of fashion and manners
5. a: a natural group of plants usu. of a single species or habit within an association b: the progeny of a pair of insects when constituting a social unit (as a hive of bees); broadly: an interdependent system of organisms or biological units
[2]society adj (1693): of, relating to, or characteristic of fashionable society