Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Society \So*ci"e*ty\, n.; pl. {Societies}. [L. societas, fr.
socius a companion: cf. F. soci['e]t['e]. See {Social}.]
1. The relationship of men to one another when associated in
any way; companionship; fellowship; company. ``Her loved
society.'' --Milton.
There is society where none intrudes By the deep
sea, and music in its roar. --Byron.
2. Connection; participation; partnership. [R.]
The meanest of the people and such as have the least
society with the acts and crimes of kings. --Jer.
Taylor.
3. A number of persons associated for any temporary or
permanent object; an association for mutual or joint
usefulness, pleasure, or profit; a social union; a
partnership; as, a missionary society.
4. The persons, collectively considered, who live in any
region or at any period; any community of individuals who
are united together by a common bond of nearness or
intercourse; those who recognize each other as associates,
friends, and acquaintances.
5. Specifically, the more cultivated portion of any community
in its social relations and influences; those who mutually
give receive formal entertainments.
{Society of Jesus}. See {Jesuit}.
{Society verses} [a translation of F. vers de soci['e]t['e]],
the lightest kind of lyrical poetry; verses for the
amusement of polite society.
Source : WordNet®
society
n 1: an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and
economic organization
2: a formal association of people with similar interests; "he
joined a golf club"; "they formed a small lunch society";
"men from the fraternal order will staff the soup kitchen
today" [syn: {club}, {guild}, {gild}, {lodge}, {order}]
3: the state of being with someone; "he missed their company";
"he enjoyed the society of his friends" [syn: {company}, {companionship},
{fellowship}]
4: the fashionable elite [syn: {high society}, {beau monde}, {smart
set}, {bon ton}]