henchman
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English henxman (“page, attendant”), from Old English *hengstmann, *hengestmann (“groom”, literally “horseman”), from hengst, hengest (“stallion, horse, steed, gelding”) (from Proto-Germanic *hangistaz (“stallion”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱanḱest-, *kankest- (“horse”)) + mann (“man”). Cognate with archaic German Hengstmann (“a groom”), Icelandic hestamaður (“horseman, groom”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
henchman (plural henchmen)
- A loyal and trusted follower or subordinate.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:loyal follower
- A person who supports a political figure chiefly out of selfish interests.
- An assistant member of a criminal gang.
- (obsolete) A page to a prince or other person of high rank.
Translations[edit]
a loyal and trusted follower or subordinate
|
a person who supports a political figure chiefly out of selfish interests
|
an assistant member of a criminal gang
|
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- English terms with obsolete senses
- en:Crime
- en:People
- en:Stock characters