sociable

English

Etymology

From Middle French sociable, from Latin sociābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsoʊʃəbəl/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Adjective

sociable (comparative more sociable, superlative most sociable)

1. (of a person) Tending to socialize or be social.

   He's normally pretty quiet, but he gets much more sociable around women.

   Synonyms: friendly, inviting, congenial

   • 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     Society is no comfort to one not sociable.

2. Offering opportunities for conversation; characterized by much conversation.

   a sociable party

3. (archaic) Capable of being, or fit to be, united in one body or company; associable.
   • 1594–1597, Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, →OCLC, (please specify the page):

     They are sociable parts united into one body.

4. (obsolete) No longer hostile; friendly.
   • c. 1608–1610, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “Philaster: Or, Love Lies a Bleeding”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1679, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     Is the King sociable And bids thee live ?

Antonyms

• (tending to socialize): unsociable

Derived terms

• sociability
• sociableness

Translations

tending to socialize or be social; friendly; inviting; congenial

• Belarusian: тавары́скі (tavarýski)
• Bulgarian: общителен (bg) (obštitelen), приятелски (bg) (prijatelski)
• Catalan: sociable (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 社交的 (zh) (shèjiāo de)

• Finnish: seurallinen, sosiaalinen (fi)
• French: sociable (fr)
• Galician: falangueiro (gl)
• Georgian: მეგობრული (megobruli), კომუნიკაბელური (ḳomuniḳabeluri), ურთიერთობის მოყვარული (urtiertobis moq̇varuli), კონტაქტური (ḳonṭakṭuri)
• German: gesellig (de)
• Hungarian: társaságkedvelő (hu), barátkozó (hu), közvetlen (hu)
• Irish: caidreamhach, cuideachtúil
• Japanese: 社交的な (ja) (しゃこうてきな, shakōteki na)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: whakahoahoa
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: selskapelig

  Nynorsk: selskapeleg, selskapleg

• Polish: towarzyski (pl)
• Portuguese: sociável
• Romanian: sociabil (ro)
• Russian: общи́тельный (ru) (obščítelʹnyj), коммуника́бельный (ru) (kommunikábelʹnyj), конта́ктный (ru) (kontáktnyj), компане́йский (ru) (kompanéjskij)
• Spanish: comerciable (es), gregario (es)
• Tagalog: halubilo, mahalubilo
• Ukrainian: товари́ський (tovarýsʹkyj), компані́йський (kompaníjsʹkyj)

Noun

sociable (plural sociables)

1. A sociable person.
2. (historical) A four-wheeled open carriage with seats facing each other.
3. A bicycle or tricycle for two persons side by side.
4. A couch with a curved S-shaped back.
5. (US) An informal party or church meeting for purposes of socializing.
   • 1903, George Horace Lorimer, Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to his Son (page 46)

     At the church sociables he used to hop around among them, chipping and chirping like a dicky-bird picking up seed; and he was a great hand to play the piano, and sing saddish, sweetish songs to them.

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Asturian

Etymology

From Latin sociābilis.

Adjective

sociable (epicene, plural sociables)

1. sociable

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin sociābilis.

Adjective

sociable m or f (masculine and feminine plural sociables)

1. sociable

Further reading

• “sociable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “sociable”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “sociable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “sociable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

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French

Etymology

From Latin sociābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɔ.sjabl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

sociable (plural sociables)

1. sociable

Further reading

• “sociable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Galician

Alternative forms

• sociábel

Etymology

From Latin sociābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɔ.ˈθja.ble/, [s̺ɔ.ˈθja.βle̝]

Adjective

sociable m or f (plural sociables)

1. sociable

Antonyms

• insociable

Further reading

• “sociable”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2024

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin sociābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /soˈθjable/ [soˈθja.β̞le]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /soˈsjable/ [soˈsja.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -able

Adjective

sociable m or f (masculine and feminine plural sociables)

1. sociable

Derived terms

• sociabilidad

Further reading

• “sociable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014