This is something I have been pondering for a while.
Leonardo Bruni (1370–1444) in his rather popular translation of Aristotle's Politics choose to use societas civilis as the preferred translation of κοινωνία πολιτική (koinonia politikē), the political community, another word for polis. As James Schmidt notes in his article on "The Translation of Aristotle's Politics" Leonardo Bruni's use 'civitas appelator & civilis societas' has served as a paradigm for countless subsequent thinkers and countless future translators of the Politics. Now Bruni choice here radically deviates from Morbeke's use politicum communitas for κοινωνία πολιτική (koinonia politikē).
Thus, when looking for the origins of the concept of society. Most scholars and commentators point to the Latin term societas. They do this because of what Bruni did with his translation of the Politics, which as I just noted, had a significant influence on others and their understanding of Aristotle's text and how it was to be understood.
Yet if we look more closely at the Latin term societas we find that it really does not fit what Aristotle and others understood the character of a κοινωνία (koinonia). The origins of the term societas in Latin is found in the fact that it described the relationship of the socii, alliances with other peoples or cities. They are more a form of alliance or relations shaped by treaty or contract than κοινωνία (koinonia). Aristotle in Politics 2.2. 1261a24 and 3.2.1280a31-b13 explicitly denies that the polis, the political community, is merely a form of σῠμμᾰχῐ́ᾱ (summakhíā) but something more binding, more binding than what occurs in a σῠμμᾰχῐ́ᾱ (summakhíā). The socii and relations with them are more defined by the utility and advantage that the relationship was sought to secure. Thus, societas as much more in common with the Greek term σῠμμᾰχῐ́ᾱ (summakhíā), than with κοινωνία (koinonia).
Upon an overview of what has just been raised, I would argue that Bruni's choice to translate κοινωνία (koinonia) as societas is not an act of faithful translation from the Greek into the Latin, but an act of intention distortion of the meaning of Aristotle's text. A distortion that would fit into Bruni's more commercial view of civic life. A distortion that would allow him and others to claim Aristotle as an ally in their political project.
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