# societal

> English word · Adjective · IPA [səˈsaɪ.ɪ.tɫ̩] · frequency rank #13,243

## Definitions
1. Of or pertaining to society or social groups, or to their activities, customs, etc.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ-
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷéh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-ṓy
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷh₂ṓy
Proto-Indo-European *-yós
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷyós
Proto-Italic *sokjos
Latin sokios
Latin socius
Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-ts
Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts
Proto-Italic *-tāts
Latin -tās
Latin societāslbor.
Old French societé
Middle French societébor.
English society
Proto-Italic *-ālis
Latin -ālisbor.
Old French -albor.
▲
Latin -ālis
Old French -elbor.
▲
Latin -ālisbor.
Middle English -al
English -al
English societal
From society + -al.

## Easily confused with
- **society** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/societal-vs-society)
- **social** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/social-vs-societal)
- **Sociedad** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sociedad-vs-societal)

## Common misspellings (11)
`oscietal`, `scoietal`, `soccietal`, `soceital`, `socieatl`, `societall`, `societla`, `societtal`, `sociteal`, `soicetal`, `ssocietal`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/societal