sorority
UK[səˈrɒr.ə.ti]US[səˈrɔːr.ə.t̬i]
n
a social organization for female students at a college or university.
n
a feeling of sisterhood or solidarity among women.
Morpheme Breakdown
soror
ity
soror
sister
ity
state or quality
Etymology
the word "sorority" is a direct borrowing from latin, specifically from the noun "sororitas," which means sisterhood. this latin term is built upon the root "soror," meaning sister, a word with deep indo-european ancestry related to concepts of kinship and female relations. the suffix "-ity," from latin "-itas," was added to transform the concrete noun "soror" into an abstract noun denoting the state or quality of being sisters. in its journey into modern english, the word retained its core meaning of sisterhood but became institutionally specialized to refer to the social sisterhood organizations for women in north american universities.
Analysis
Structure: soror (sister) + ity (state or quality)
soror (latin, meaning "sister"), ity (latin suffix, forming nouns denoting a state or condition).
Examples
she was very active in her college sorority and held a leadership position.
the event fostered a strong sense of sorority among the women in the community.
rushing a sorority is a common tradition during the first year at many universities.