società Italian · revision 38380

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=13th century, Jacopone da Todi|origins=la socius}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /so.t͡ʃeˈta/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''società''' ''f'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms are [[roa-oit|societade]], [[roa-oit|societate]] and [[roa-oit|sozietà]].^(TLIO)^(DEI|3523)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|societas|alt=societātem|t=fellowship, association; alliance]], in the accusative form whose ending was cut short in Italian.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) The Latin noun is formed from [[m|la|socius|t=companion, ally]] with the suffix [[m|la|-tās]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan traces the base noun to [[ine-pro|*sokʷ-(h₂)-i-o-|t=companion]], formed like [[gem-pro|*sagjaz]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) The inherited outcome of the same Latin word is [[soccida]], a contract for raising livestock on shares.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)^(REW 1935) Learned borrowings like this one are [[fr|société]] and [[es|sociedad]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Körting 1907)

+

+ The senses “company of people” and “high society” follow French: the French word had the first from 1690 and [[m|fr|haute société]] from 1835, and DELI quotes 19th-century purists who rejected the Italian phrases for “high society” and “going into society” as Gallicisms.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is Jacopone da Todi (late 13th century, Umbrian), for a group of people sharing moral principles and shaping their conduct by them.^(TLIO)^(DEI) DELI and GRADIT date the form ''sozietade'' to Giordano da Pisa (before 1311), and ''società'' itself to an Italian translation of Augustine of the second half of the 14th century.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian the word named both the community of mankind (''società umana'') and the bond, natural or contractual, that ties people together, often paired with ''compagnia''.^(TLIO) An association of people with a common aim is recorded in 1596 and a commercial partnership before 1622.^(DELI 1999) Lorenzo Magalotti and Paolo Mattia Doria used it for a company of people around 1710; the use of the bare word for “the world, mankind”, without ''civile'' or ''umana'', is again a French model.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The sense “animal society” is recorded before 1869.^(DELI 1999) Modern Italian has many phrases: ''società per azioni'' (joint-stock company), ''società civile'', ''società dei consumi'', ''onorata società'' (the Camorra or Mafia), ''gioco di società'' (parlour game).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) ''Società aperta'' is Karl Popper's open society, and ''società affluente'' a calque of English ''affluent society''.^(Treccani 2011)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 13th century – Jacopone da Todi uses ''societate''.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1311 – Giordano da Pisa writes ''sozietade''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Second half of the 14th century – ''Società'' appears in a translation of Augustine.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1596 – It is used for an association with a common purpose.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1622 – It is used for a business partnership.^(DELI 1999)

+ * About 1710 – It is used for a company of people, after French.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1869 – It is used for an animal society.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1884 – The adjective ''societario'' is recorded, on the model of French ''sociétaire''.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # All human beings, seen as joined by natural ties and common interests; [[m|en|society]]: ''le regole della società''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A human group organized by a structure of relations, seen in its time and place: ''la società rurale dell'Ottocento''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Social life, the company of others: ''Dopo il lutto evitava la società.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A class of people, especially the upper class and its social life: ''fare il debutto in società''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # An [[m|en|association]] of people pursuing a common aim: ''una società di mutuo soccorso''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(law, economics)'' A [[m|en|company]] or partnership set up to carry on an economic activity: ''società per azioni''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(often capitalized)'' A religious [[m|en|congregation]]: ''Società di Gesù''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(zoology)'' A group of animals of one species living together and dividing tasks.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[societario]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sociale]]

+ * [[sociologia]]

+ * [[socio]]

+ * [[soccida]]

+ * [[la|societas]]

+ * [[fr|société]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''In società'' (“jointly, in partnership”) is common in everyday speech: ''comprare una barca in società''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GRADIT 2003) The word is invariable in the plural: ''le società''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}