companion

noun, often attributive com·pan·ion \ kəm-ˈpan-yən \

|Updated on: 1 May 2018

Examples: companion in a Sentence

Editor's Note: History of companion

Definition of companion

plural companions

1 : one that accompanies another : comrade, associate

traveling companions

; also : one that keeps company with another

his longtime companion

2 obsolete : rascal

3 a : one that is closely connected with something similar

The book is a companion to the television series with the same title.

b : one employed to live with and serve another

We hired a companion for our elderly mother.

4 : a celestial body that appears close to another but that may or may not be associated with it in space

5 : a book, manual, etc., that provides information or advice about a particular subject

a companion to French New Wave cinema

—used in titles

The Gardener's Companion

History of companion

You may be a companion to someone without eating with that person, but etymologically you are sharing a meal with them. The word companion ultimately comes from the Latin com- (“with”) and panis (“bread, food”). The ingestible aspect of this word is reminiscent of symposium, which may be traced to the Greek word sympinein, meaning “to drink together.” But just as you may be a companion to someone without eating, you may also attend a symposium without drinking.

Origin and Etymology of companion

Middle English compainoun, from Anglo-French cumpaing, cumpaignun, from Late Latin companion-, companio, from Latin com- + panis bread, food — more at food

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year