An evening entertainment, usually given to enable the members of a congregation to meet each other.
1890. Their wildest idea of dissipation was a church sociable or a couple of tickets to opera or theatre.—The Century, xl. 272/2.
1891. It is surprising that so little scientific attention has been given to those manifestations of the gregarious instinct of Americans which are called “socials,” or “sociables.”—Editorial on “Socials”: The Nation, N.Y., Oct. 15, liii. 290.
