companionable
adjective
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A "companionable" person is someone who (etymologically at least) is willing to share bread with you. "Companionable" is the adjective form of "companion," which ultimately derives from a combination of the Latin prefix com-, meaning "with" or "together," and the noun panis, meaning "bread, loaf, or food." "Companionable" first appeared in print in English in the 16th century (companion has been in use since the 14th). Other descendants of "panis" include "pantry" (a place for storing food), "pannier" (a basket such as might carry food), and "panettone" (a kind of yeast bread). Even "food" itself is derived from the same ancient root that gave rise to "panis" in Latin.
Examples of companionable in a Sentence
Armond White, National Review, 7 Mar. 2025
The opera is too domesticated, earthbound, and companionable to convey that extreme bleakness.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
For a while, the team sits together in the truck, watching in companionable silence as the lumbering giants disappear, one by one, into the trees.
—Tommy Trenchard, NPR, 8 Dec. 2024
The companionable dynamics in his scenes with Melling and Kene are a treat and help to leaven the languor that sets in the back-half of the run-time.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for companionable
Cite this Entry
“Companionable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/companionable. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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