What does "social" mean?
Social: Ready or disposed to mix in friendly converse; companionable; sociable; as, a social person.
Additional senses
- 2.Consisting in union or mutual intercourse. Best with thyself accompanied, seek'st not Social communication. Milton.
- 3.(Bot.) Naturally growing in groups or masses; -- said of many individual plants of the same species.
- 4.(Zoöl.) (a) Living in communities consisting of males, females, and neuters, as do ants and most bees. (b) Forming compound groups or colonies by budding from basal processes or stolons; as, the social ascidians. Social science, the science of all that relates to the social condition, the relations and institutions which are involved in man's existence and his well- being as a member of an organized community; sociology. It concerns itself with questions of the public health, education, labor, punishment of crime, reformation of criminals, and the like. -- Social whale (Zoöl.), the blackfish. -- The social evil, prostitution.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00