Middle French

Noun

compaignon m (plural compaignons)

1. companion; friend
2. member
   • 1488, Jean Dupré, Lancelot du Lac, page 18:

     il lui dist qu'il estoit de la maison au roy Artus compaignon de la table ronde

     he told him he was of the house of King Arthur and a member of the round table

Descendants

• French: compagnon

Old French

Alternative forms

• compagnon

Etymology

From Late Latin compāniō ‎(literally “he with whom one shares one's bread”), from com- + pānis (with + bread), first attested in the Frankish Lex Salica as a calque of a Germanic word, probably Frankish *galaibo, *gahlaibo ‎(“messmate”, literally “with-bread”), from *hlaib ‎(“loaf, bread”). Compare Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌱𐌰 ‎(gahlaiba, “messmate”) from 𐌲𐌰- ‎(ga-, “with”) + 𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌱𐌰 ‎(hlaiba, “bread”), Old High German galeipo from ga- ‎(“with”) + leipo ‎(“bread”). Compare also with the etymologically related term compaignie.

Noun

compaignon m ‎(oblique plural compaignons, nominative singular compaing, nominative plural compaignon)

1. friend
2. colleague, companion

Descendants

• Middle French: compaignon
  • French: compagnon