A society is a self-reproducing grouping of individuals occupying a particular territory, which may have its own distinctive culture and institutions. As culture is generally considered unique to humans, the terms "society" and "human society" have the same meaning. "Society," may refer to a particular people, such as the Nuer, to a nation state, such as Austria, or to a broader cultural group, such as Western society.

Origin and usage

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The English word society emerged in the 15th century and is derived from the French société. The French word, in turn, had its origin in the Latin societas, a "friendly association with others," from socius meaning "companion, associate, comrade or business partner." Thus the meaning of society is closely related to what is considered to be social. Implicit in the meaning of society is that its members share some mutual concern or interest, a common objective or common characteristics. As such, society is often used to mean the collective citizenry of a country as directed through national institutions concerned with civic welfare.

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NYT > Books

Killer Children
Sat, 19 Jul 2008 11:05:58 -0000
In Natsuo Kirino’s novel, a juvenile killer on the run in Tokyo murders without conscience — and only in retrospect attempts to invent a philosophy to explain his crime.
Essay: Advice Squad
Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:44:44 -0000
A guided tour of the books on the self-help best-seller list.
Rock the Casbah
Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:34:51 -0000
Mark LeVine discovered that the Islamic world has a surprisingly active heavy metal subculture.
A Conspiracy So Immense
Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:26:42 -0000
Stephen L. Carter’s new thriller involves a clandestine fraternity that works to subvert democracy.
I Married a Maori
Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:27:39 -0000
Christina Thompson’s tale of New Zealand combines memoir with cultural history.
This One’s for Daddy
Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:33:04 -0000
Facing the memories of a father’s short life of hard drinking, cruelty and the circumstances that helped push him to those extremes.

The Book Bench

Turf War
Elizabeth Kolbert Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0000
In 1841, Andrew Jackson Downing published the first landscape-gardening book aimed at an American audience. At the time, Downing was twenty-five years old and living in Newburgh, New York. He owned a nursery, which he had inherited from his father, and for several years had been publishing loftily . . .
The Sister
Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0000
This suspenseful first novel is set in a crumbling Dorset mansion and features two aging sisters, reunited after a separation of nearly fifty years. Virginia is the sensible older sister who stayed, carrying on the family tradition of lepidopterology, while the reckless and free-spirited Vivien left to lead a . . .
Readings and Talks
Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0000
MUSEUM OF MODERN ART From the fifties until his death, in 1966, Frank O’Hara worked at the Museum of Modern Art and wrote poetry during his lunch break. On July 16 at noon, the poets Lee Ann Brown, Dan Chiasson, Hettie Jones, Vincent Katz, and Philip Schultz visit the museum . . .

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