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
Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 11 May 2025
Brad Lander, the city’s comptroller, rattled off racial disparities in net worth for New York families, sounding like a companionable guest on an economics podcast.
—Eric Lach, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
Winfrey and Goldberg, ages 71 and 69, were presenting themselves as political avatars rather than the companionable media figures of their first renown.
—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
See All Example Sentences for companionable
Cite this Entry
“Companionable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/companionable. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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