Etymograph

English

social

Social comes from Middle French social, from Latin sociālis ‘of or belonging to a companion or association’, from socius ‘a companion’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to follow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-1‘to follow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sokʷyós1‘follower, companion’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sokjos1‘companion’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEsokios1
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsocius1‘a companion’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsociālis1‘of or belonging to a companion or association, social’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600social1‘allied’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1851social1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English social
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick: “Not ignoring what is good, I am quick to…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-Wiktionary, English social‘to follow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sokʷyósWiktionary, English social‘follower, companion’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sokjosWiktionary, English social‘companion’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEsokiosWiktionary, English social
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsociusWiktionary, English social‘a companion’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsociālisWiktionary, English social‘of or belonging to a companion or association, social’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600socialWiktionary, English social‘allied’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1851socialWiktionary, English social. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick: “Not ignoring what is good, I am quick to…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with social, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to follow’

  • see ← seen ← sēon ← *sehwan ← *sehwaną
  • say ← saien ← seċġan ← *saggjan ← *sagjaną
  • second ← secunde ← secundus ← *sekʷondo-
  • saw ← sawe ← saga ← *sagā ← *sagǭ
  • executive ← executif ← executivus ← exsequi
  • suit ← sute ← suite ← siute ← *sequita
  • sight ← sighte ← sihþ ← *sihti ← *sehwan
  • subsequent ← subsequēns
  • sequence ← sequentia ← sequēns ← sequor ← *sekʷōr
  • pursue ← pursuen ← pursure ← prōsequor ← sequor
  • sue ← seuen ← suer
  • consecutive ← consécutif ← cōnsecūtīvus ← cōnsecūtus ← cōnsequor

68 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

adj Being extroverted or outgoing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “social”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- / social