Preistoria linguistica dei termini latini ‘socius’ e ‘societas’

The Latin word societās is derived from socius. In modern etymology, the latter
is normally considered as a nominal formation derived from the verb sequor ‘follow’. Even if
the relationship between socius and sequor is based on solid phonological arguments, the
semantic correspondence between the two words is less evident: the main meaning of socius
seem to be ‘partner, comrade, companion’, and not ‘follower’. The semantic relationship
between socius and sequor is not better illustrated by their cognates in Germanic (e.g., the Old
Norse seggr ‘man, warrior’ and sjá ‘to see’) or Greek (where the noun ŽπέτŒς is just a hapax,
and its Miycenaean antecedent e-qe-ta lacks a clear meaning). A semantic bond of the two
forms can be found in the Old Indo-Iranian languages: for example, in the Vedic texts can be
observed a clear relationship between the verb sac- ‘to have to do with, to be familiar with’
(the Sanskrit cognate of Latin sequor), and its derivated sákhay- ‘friend, companion’
(corresponding to Latin socius). Moreover, the Indian examples can help to illustrate the
emotional and sentimental connotations of the terms indicating social relations in the Old Indo-
European languages.