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Social Distance

Finding multiple meanings in the World of Q, etymologically speaking.

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social (adj.)

late 15c., “devoted to or relating to home life;” 1560s as “living with others,” from Middle French social (14c.) and directly from Latin socialis “of companionship, of allies; united, living with others; of marriage, conjugal,” from socius “companion, ally,” probably originally “follower,” from PIE *sokw-yo-, suffixed form of root *sekw- (1) “to follow.” Compare Old English secg, Old Norse seggr “companion,” which seem to have been formed on the same notion).

distance (n.)

c. 1300, distaunce, “a dispute or controversy, civil strife, rebellion;” early 14c., “disagreement, discord, strife;” from Old French destance “discord, quarrel” (13c.), with later senses directly from Latin distantia “a standing apart,” from distantem (nominative distans) “standing apart, separate, distant,” present participle of distare “stand apart,” from dis- “apart, off” (see dis-) + stare “to stand,” from PIE root *sta- “to stand, make or be firm.”

Meaning “remoteness of space, extent of space between two objects or places” is from late 14c. Also “an interval of time” (late 14c., originally distaunce of times). Meaning “remote part of a field of vision” is by 1813. The figurative sense of “aloofness, remoteness in personal intercourse” (1590s) is the same as in stand-offish.