Meanings
plural friendly societies
- Any of various early types of life insurance or mutual support associations.First known use 17th c.
At a lower social level the eighteenth century saw the launching of pioneer insurance schemes by industrial firms for their employees and the proliferation of working-class friendly societies.
1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 635Synonyms: benefit society
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAny of various early types of life insurance or mutual support associations.
Cite this entry
friendly society. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/friendly%20society
“friendly society.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/friendly%20society. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “friendly society,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/friendly%20society.
Source: friendly society on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.