sociology
UK /ˌsəʊsiːˈɒləd͡ʒiː/ · US /ˌsoʊsiˈɑləd͡ʒi/ noun
Forms sociologies
- noun A social science that studies society, human social interaction, patterns of social relationships, and the interactions of culture. Through both theory and applied research, it engages subject matters across a range of microanalysis, mesoanalysis, and macroanalysis.
Etymology
From French sociologie, coined by Auguste Comte in 1834, itself a combination of Latin socius (“companion, fellowship”) and the Greek suffix Ancient Greek -λογία (-logía), itself from Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos, “word, knowledge”), from socio- + -logy.
Previous mentions of the field in English usually referred to it as social physics.
Webster’s 1913
- noun That branch of philosophy which treats of the constitution, phenomena, and development of human society; social science. H. Spencer.
Etymology [L. socius a companion + -logy.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “sociology”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details