gesellschaft

[German guh-zel-shahft]

noun, plural ge·sell·schaf·ten

[German guh-zel-shahf-tuh n] /German gəˈzɛlˌʃɑf tən/. (often initial capital letter)

an association of individuals for common goals, as for entertainment, intellectual, or cultural purposes or for business reasons.
Sociology. a society or group characterized chiefly by formal organization, impersonal relations, the absence of generally held or binding norms, and a detachment from traditional and sentimental concerns, and often tending to be rationalistic and secular in outlook.

Compare gemeinschaft.

Origin of gesellschaft

1935–40; < German, equivalent to Geselle companion + -schaft -ship

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for gesellschaft

Historical Examples of gesellschaft

In the library of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna.
The Life of Johannes Brahms (Vol 1 of 2)
Florence May
In the Mitteilungen der vorderasiatischen Gesellschaft, 1899, Heft.
Archology and the Bible
George A. Barton
Mittheilungen der vorderasiatischen Gesellschaft, 1907, p. 23.
Archology and the Bible
George A. Barton
Schindler somewhere censures the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde for its long delay in making Beethoven an honorary member.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume II (of 3)
Alexander Wheelock Thayer
So Pohl, who wrote a history of the Gesellschaft, informed Thayer in a note.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume III (of 3)
Alexander Wheelock Thayer

British Dictionary definitions for gesellschaft

gesellschaft

noun plural -schaften (German -ʃaftən)

(often capital) a social group held together by practical concerns, formal and impersonal relationships, etcCompare gemeinschaft

Word Origin for gesellschaft

German, literally: society

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for gesellschaft

1887, "social relationship based on duty to society or an organization," from German Gesellschaft, from geselle "companion" + -schaft "-ship."