different between faction vs society

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fæk.??n/, /?fæk.?n?/
• Rhymes: -æk??n

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle French faction, from Latin facti? (“a group of people acting together, a political faction”), noun of process from perfect passive participle factus, from faci? (“do, make”). Doublet of fashion.

Noun

faction (countable and uncountable, plural factions)

1. (countable) A group of people, especially within a political organization, which expresses a shared belief or opinion different from people who are not part of the group.
2. (uncountable) Strife; discord.
   • 1805, Johann Georg Cleminius, Englisches Lesebuch für Kaufleute, pg. 188:

     Publick [sic] affairs soon fell into the utmost confusion, and in this state of faction and perplexity, the island continued, until its re-capture by the French in 1779.

   • 2001, Odd Magne Bakke, "Concord and Peace": A Rhetorical Analysis of the First Letter of Clement With an Emphasis on the Language of Unity and Sedition, publ. Mohr Siebeck, ?ISBN, pg. 89:

     He asks the audience if they believe that they will be more loved by the gods if the city is in a state of faction than if they govern the city with good order and concord.

Derived terms

• factional
• factionalize

Related terms

Translations

See also

• splinter group

Etymology 2

Blend of fact +? fiction.

Noun

faction (uncountable)

1. A form of literature, film etc., that treats real people or events as if they were fiction; a mix of fact and fiction

Derived terms

• science faction

Related terms

• fact
• fiction

See also

• Non-fiction novel on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin facti?, facti?nem. Compare façon, which is inherited rather than borrowed.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fak.sj??/

Noun

faction f (plural factions)

1. act of keeping watch
2. a watchman
3. (politics) a faction; specifically one which causes trouble

Further reading

• “faction” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Alternative forms

• soc. (abbreviation)

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French societé , from Latin societ?s, societ?tem (“fellowship, association, alliance, union, community”), from socius (“associated, allied; partner, companion, ally”), from Proto-Indo-European *sok?-yo- (“companion”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek?- (“to follow”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s??sa?.?.ti/

Noun

society (countable and uncountable, plural societies)

1. (countable) A long-standing group of people sharing cultural aspects such as language, dress, norms of behavior and artistic forms.
2. (countable) A group of people who meet from time to time to engage in a common interest; an association or organization.

   • At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors. […] In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass.

3. (countable) The sum total of all voluntary interrelations between individuals.
4. (uncountable) The people of one’s country or community taken as a whole.
5. (uncountable) High society.
6. (countable, law) A number of people joined by mutual consent to deliberate, determine and act toward a common goal.

Derived terms

Translations

References

Further reading

• "society" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 291.