Friendly society

How it is used

In social history, friendly describes mutual support, not simply pleasant social relations.

Example sentences

1. The friendly society paid a benefit when the carpenter could no longer work.

   Members pool contributions to support an agreed contingency.

2. Minutes of the friendly society record disputes about overdue subscriptions.

   Collective assistance depended on maintaining a contribution system.

Common collocations

• join a friendly society
• friendly society benefits

Related terms

• social classA group of people in a society who share a similar economic position, such as wealth, occupation or education, and often similar status and opportunities.
• guildAn association of craftsmen or merchants in the same trade that set standards, controlled training and prices, and protected its members, especially in medieval and early modern towns.

More terms: Social History

• feudalism
• peasant
• slavery
• aristocracy
• urbanization
• migration
• serf
• literacy
• corvée
• indentured servitude
• debt bondage
• maroon community