sociale

Forms

sociale m or f by sense (plural sociali)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin sociālis (“companionable; of allies”), a learned word from socius (“companion, ally”).^[2][3][4][5] The Latin adjective is formed from the noun with the suffix -ālis.^[1][6] French social and Spanish social continue it in the same learned way.^[3]

The modern sense “of human society” owes much to French: Battisti and Alessio treat this sense apart, as taken in the 19th century from social, and Nocentini and Prati trace it to Jean-Jacques Rousseau's “Contrat social” of 1762.^[7][3][8] Italian had contratto sociale already in 1763–64, in Cesare Beccaria's “Dei delitti e delle pene”.^[2] The derivatives socialità, socializzare and socializzazione also follow French models.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Tuscan Questioni filosofiche, written after 1298, where the adjective means “concerning relations with other people”.^[9] DELI dates the word from a 14th-century translation of Gregory the Great's Moralia, which speaks of vita sociale, life in company.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the adjective described people inclined to company, one who works together with others, and the alliances of Rome with the Italian peoples, including the Social War between Rome and its allies.^[9][10] Girolamo Savonarola wrote that man is a animale sociale, rendering Aristotle's phrase, and the expression has stayed in use.^[11][12] From the 16th century the word also referred to an association or company, a sense continued in capitale sociale and sede sociale.^[2][13]

With Rousseau and Beccaria in the 1760s it came to mean “of human society”, and in the 19th century it took on the political colouring of questione sociale and giustizia sociale, alongside socialista (1839) and socialismo (1844).^[2][3][12] Recent dictionaries add the noun il sociale, the field of welfare and voluntary work: impegnarsi nel sociale.^[14][1]

Timeline

• After 1298 – Sociale appears in the Tuscan Questioni filosofiche.^[9]
• 14th century – The translation of Gregory's Moralia has vita sociale.^[2]
• Before 1580 – Vincenzo Borghini uses it of an association or company.^[2]
• 1686 – Paolo Segneri has socialità.^[2]
• 1763–1764 – Cesare Beccaria writes of the contratto sociale.^[2]
• 1839 – Socialista is first recorded.^[3]
• 1844 – Socialismo is first recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Living in society, inclined by nature to live with others: Il cane è un animale molto sociale.^[4][15][14]
2. (zoology, botany) Of animals, especially insects such as ants and bees, living in organised colonies; of plants, growing in groups of the same species.^[4][15][16]
3. Of human society and the relations between people within it: Le differenze sociali sono aumentate.^[4][15][14]
4. Aimed at better living conditions for the less well off; of art or cinema, denouncing injustice: politiche sociali.^[4][14][13]
5. Of a company, club or association and its members: la quota sociale.^[14][12][13]
6. (history) Of the allies of ancient Rome.^[14][9]

Noun

1. il sociale: the field of welfare, social services and voluntary work.^[14][1]

Word family

• socialdemocrazia
• socialismo
• socialità
• socializzare
• socialmente
• socializzazione
• socialistico
• socialcomunismo
• socialista
• socialcomunista
• socialdemocratico
• antisociale
• asociale

Related words

• società
• socievole
• socio
• Latin socialis
• French social

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 19, 227
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3523
8. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 924
9. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET, p. 4, 943
11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
12. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
14. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
16. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli