"societies" in the noun sense
1. society
an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
2. club, social club, society, guild, gild, lodge, order
a formal association of people with similar interests
"he joined a golf club"
"they formed a small lunch society"
"men from the fraternal order will staff the soup kitchen today"
3. company, companionship, fellowship, society
the state of being with someone
"he missed their company"
"he enjoyed the society of his friends"
4. society, high society, beau monde, smart set, bon ton
the fashionable elite
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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