social

Forms

social m or f (masculine and feminine plural sociales)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin sociālis (“of a companion or partner; of allies; social”).^[2][1][3] Corominas, who dates it only from the Academy's dictionary of 1817, says it came by way of French social, a word made popular by Rousseau's Contrat social (1761). Terreros's remark that in Spanish it could only be used of the Social War of the Romans echoes the objections to it as a Gallicism.^[3][4] The CDH has it much earlier, in a late 14th-century translation, for that same war of Rome against its allies.^[5]

The Latin adjective is formed from socius (“companion, ally”) with the suffix -ālis.^[1][6] De Vaan reconstructs the noun as Proto-Italic *sokjo-, from Proto-Indo-European *sokʷ-(h₂)-i-o- (“companion”), with cognates in Indo-Iranian and possibly Germanic.^[7]

The same Latin adjective is Portuguese social, recorded from 1597,^[8] and Catalan social and Italian sociale.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record in a text without a later copy is Juan Fernández de Heredia's translation of Eutropius (1377–1399), which speaks of the batalla social, the war of Rome against its Italian allies: the sense “of allies”.^[5] Bartolomé de las Casas, in works of 1527–1561, already uses it of human life in society, of the vida social y conversación humana “social life and human intercourse” and of people who are sociales and naturally inclined to live together.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Terreros glossed it “belonging to company” and allowed it only for the Roman war.^[4] The Academy's 1817 dictionary defined it as belonging to society, as in contrato social and virtudes sociales, and as belonging to partners, allies or confederates.^[9] In the Americas el pacto social is recorded in Lima in 1792 and Rousseau's pacto social in Mexico in 1815.^[10] Domínguez added the sense “of a company or association”, as in capital social.^[11] The Academy took in socialismo and socialista in 1884 and socializar in 1925.^[3]

Modern Spanish also uses it of the less well-off classes, of social animals such as ants and bees, of the courts for labour cases, and of a habit practised in company, like a fumador social.^[2][12] In El Salvador, Bolivia, Argentina and Uruguay sociales is the society column of a newspaper, and in Cuba un social is a friend.^[13]

Timeline

• 1377–1399 – Juan Fernández de Heredia's Eutropius has batalla social.^[5]
• 1527–1561 – Bartolomé de las Casas has vida social.^[5]
• 1786–1793 – Terreros allows it only for the Social War.^[4]
• 1792 – first record from the Americas, el pacto social in Lima.^[10]
• 1817 – first in the Academy's dictionary, Corominas's date.^[9][14]
• 1846–1847 – Domínguez records the sense “of a company”.^[11]
• 1884 – the Academy gives the etymology from Latin socialis.^[15]
• 1925 – the Academy admits socializar.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or relating to society (sociedad); social: los problemas sociales del barrio.^[2][1]
2. Taking place in society or in company: un acto social.^[2]
3. Of a person with a habit, practising it in company and prompted by others: un bebedor social.^[2]
4. Of or relating to a company or society, or to its members, partners or allies.^[2][9]
5. Of or relating to the less well-off classes: viviendas sociales.^[2][12]
6. (zoology) Of animals, living in organized colonies or groups.^[12]
7. (law) Of the courts, competent in labour and social security matters.^[2]

Noun

1. (El Salvador, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay; in the plural) The society column of a newspaper.^[13]
2. (Cuba) A friend.^[13]

Word family

• socialismo
• socialista
• socializar
• socialización

Related words

• socio
• sociedad
• sociable
• asociar
• French social
• Latin sociālis

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. social
3. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 286
4. ^ a b c Terreros y Pando, Esteban de (1786–1793), Diccionario castellano con las voces de ciencias y artes y sus correspondientes de las tres lenguas francesa, latina e italiana, 4 vols., Madrid: Viuda de Ibarra, p. 3, 513
5. ^ a b c d e Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. social
9. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 808
10. ^ a b Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. social
11. ^ a b Domínguez, Ramón Joaquín (1846–1847), Diccionario nacional o gran diccionario clásico de la lengua española, 2 vols., Madrid: Establecimiento Léxico-Tipográfico de R. J. Domínguez, p. 2, 1579
12. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. social
13. ^ a b c Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. social
14. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. socio
15. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 983