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.
Synonyms
Examples of companionable in a Sentence
Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2023
The three books are united by the way in which the unnamed narrator — her voice the same, companionable tone in all three — notices the world, alert to human pain, to people undone by life, unmoored by death, lost.
—Wyatt Mason, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2023
Advertisement Their improbably companionable relationship comes a time when partisan differences run marrow-deep and many Democrats and Republicans view their parties not as vessels of collected interests but warring tribes locked in mortal conflict.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2023
Expect the unexpected with maverick Uranus in the mix on the 23rd, and enjoy some companionable private time near the 27th.
—Katharine Merlin, Town & Country, 16 July 2023
From then on, their locker room atmosphere became more than just companionable.
—Sally Jenkins, Anchorage Daily News, 3 July 2023
In his Discourse on the Origin and the Foundation of Inequality (1755), humans went from being solitary brutes to companionable, egalitarian hunter-gatherers; but with the rise of metallurgy and agriculture, things had taken a dire turn: people were civilized, and humanity was ruined.
—Kwame Anthony Appiah, The New York Review of Books, 14 Jan. 2021
Popular culture has tamed them into cuteness, turning them into kitschy collectibles on the shelves of souvenir stores, ornaments on Christmas trees or, thanks to the Harry Potter books, companionable pets.
—Christoph Irmscher, WSJ, 3 Feb. 2023
And some inclusions of canine remains in human burials suggest a symbolic rather than companionable relationship, with many graves including single elements such as jaw bones.
—Richard Pallardy, Discover Magazine, 3 Nov. 2021
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'companionable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
1593, in the meaning defined above
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Dictionary Entries Near companionable
Cite this Entry
“Companionable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/companionable. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.
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