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Webster 1913 Edition

Companion

Com-pan′ion

(kŏm-păn′yŭn)
,
Noun.
[F.
compagnon
, OF.
compaing
, fr. an assumed LL.
companio
(cf.
companium
fellowship, a mess), fr. L.
com-
+
panis
bread. See
Pantry
.]
1.
One who accompanies or is in company with another for a longer or shorter period, either from choice or casually; one who is much in the company of, or is associated with, another or others; an associate; a comrade; a consort; a partner.
The
companions
of his fall.
Milton.
The
companion
of fools shall smart for it.
Prov. xiii. 20 (Rev. Ver.).
Here are your sons again; and I must lose
Two of the sweetest
companions
in the world.
Shakespeare
A
companion
is one with whom we share our bread; a messmate.
Trench.
2.
A knight of the lowest rank in certain orders;
as, a
companion
of the Bath
.
3.
A fellow; – in contempt.
[Obs.]
Shak.
4.
[Cf. OSp.
compaña
an outhouse, office.]
(Naut.)
(a)
A skylight on an upper deck with frames and sashes of various shapes, to admit light to a cabin or lower deck.
(b)
A wooden hood or penthouse covering the companion way; a companion hatch.
Syn. – Associate; comrade; mate; compeer; partner; ally; confederate; coadjutor; accomplice.

Com-pan′ion

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To be a companion to; to attend on; to accompany.
[R.]
Ruskin.
2.
To qualify as a companion; to make equal.
[Obs.]
Companion
me with my mistress.
Shakespeare
–
Com-pan′ion-a-ble-ness
,
Noun.
–
Com-pan′ion-a-bly
, adv.

Webster 1828 Edition

Companion

COMPANION

,
Noun.
1.
One who keeps company with another; one with whom a person frequently associates, and converses. It differs from friend, says Johnson, as acquaintance from confidence. The word does not necessarily imply friendship; but a companion is often or generally a friend.
A companion of fools shall be destroyed. Prov. 13.
2.
One who accompanies another; as two persons meeting casually and traveling together are called companions. So soldiers are called companions in arms.
3.
A partner; an associate.
Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labor, and fellow soldier. Phil. 2.
4.
A fellow; a mate.
5.
A sort of wooden porch placed over the entrance or stair case of the cabin in merchant ships. Hence the ladder by which officers ascend to and descend from the quarter deck is called the companion ladder.

Definition 2024

companion

companion

English

Noun

companion ‎(plural companions)

  1. A friend, acquaintance, or partner; someone with whom one spends time or keeps company
    His dog has been his trusted companion for the last five years.
    • Shakespeare
      Here are your sons again; and I must lose / Two of the sweetest companions in the world.
  2. (dated) A person employed to accompany or travel with another.
  3. (nautical) The framework on the quarterdeck of a sailing ship through which daylight entered the cabins below.
  4. (nautical) The covering of a hatchway on an upper deck which leads to the companionway; the stairs themselves.
  5. (topology) A knot in whose neighborhood another, specified knot meets every meridian disk.
  6. (figuratively) A thing or phenomenon that is closely associated with another thing, phenomenon, or person.
  7. (attributive) An appended source of media or information, designed to be used in conjunction with and to enhance the main material.
    The companion guide gives an in-depth analysis of this particular translation.
  8. (astronomy) A celestial object that is associated with another.
  9. A knight of the lowest rank in certain orders.
    a companion of the Bath
  10. (obsolete, derogatory) A fellow; a rogue.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:friend

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

companion ‎(third-person singular simple present companions, present participle companioning, simple past and past participle companioned)

  1. (obsolete) To be a companion to; to attend on; to accompany.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Ruskin to this entry?)
  2. (obsolete) To qualify as a companion; to make equal.

Etymology

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 translation of a Germanic word, probably Frankish *galaibo, *gahlaibo ‎(“messmate”, literally “with-bread”), from Proto-Germanic *hlaibaz ‎(“loaf, bread”). Compare also Old High German galeipo ‎(“messmate”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌱𐌰 ‎(gahlaiba, “messmate”), Old Armenian ընկեր ‎(ənker, “friend”, literally “messmate”). More at co-, loaf.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kəmˈpænjən/
  • Hyphenation: com‧pan‧ion

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