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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

companion.

A friend, acquaintance or partner; someone with whom one spends time or accompanies

9 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/kəmˈpæn.jən/
  1. A friend, acquaintance or partner; someone with whom one spends time or accompanies

    His dog has been his trusted companion for the last five years.
  2. A person employed to accompany or travel with another.

    dated
  3. The framework on the quarterdeck of a sailing ship through which daylight entered the cabins below.

  4. The covering of a hatchway on an upper deck which leads to the companionway; the stairs themselves.

  5. A knot in whose neighborhood another, specified knot meets every meridian disk.

  6. A person, thing or phenomenon that is closely associated with another person, thing or phenomenon.

    figuratively
  7. An appended source of media or information, designed to be used in conjunction with and to enhance the main material.

    attributive
    The companion guide gives an in-depth analysis of this particular translation.
  8. A celestial object that is associated with another.

  9. A knight of the lowest rank in certain orders.

    a companion of the Bath
  10. A fellow; a rogue.

    derogatory · obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Middle English companion, from Old French compaignon (“companion”) (modern French compagnon), from Late Latin compāniōn- (nominative singular compāniō, whence French copain), from com- + pānis (literally, with + bread), a word first attested in the Frankish Lex Salica as a calque of a Germanic word, probably Frankish *galaibo, *gahlaibō (“messmate”, literally “with-bread”), from Proto-Germanic *gahlaibô. Compare also Old High German galeipo (“messmate”) and Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌱𐌰 (gahlaiba, “messmate”); and, for the semantics, compare Old Armenian ընկեր (ənker, “friend”, literally “messmate”). More at co-, loaf. Displaced native Old English ġefēra (literally “fellow traveler”). Compare company and mate.

verb/kəmˈpæn.jən/
  1. To be a companion to; to attend on; to accompany.

    obsolete
  2. To qualify as a companion; to make equal.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Middle English companion, from Old French compaignon (“companion”) (modern French compagnon), from Late Latin compāniōn- (nominative singular compāniō, whence French copain), from com- + pānis (literally, with + bread), a word first attested in the Frankish Lex Salica as a calque of a Germanic word, probably Frankish *galaibo, *gahlaibō (“messmate”, literally “with-bread”), from Proto-Germanic *gahlaibô. Compare also Old High German galeipo (“messmate”) and Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌱𐌰 (gahlaiba, “messmate”); and, for the semantics, compare Old Armenian ընկեր (ənker, “friend”, literally “messmate”). More at co-, loaf. Displaced native Old English ġefēra (literally “fellow traveler”). Compare company and mate.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.