companion

English

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 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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kəmˈpænjən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: com‧pan‧ion

Noun

companion (plural companions)

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.

   • 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene v]:

     Here are your sons again; and I must lose / Two of the sweetest companions in the world.

   • 2017 September 27, David Browne, "Hugh Hefner, 'Playboy' Founder, Dead at 91," Rolling Stone

     For the most part, Hefner's female companions all adhered to the same mold: twentysomething, bosomy and blonde. "Well, I guess I know what I like," he once said when asked about his preferences.# (dated) A person employed to accompany or travel with another.

2. (nautical) The framework on the quarterdeck of a sailing ship through which daylight entered the cabins below.
3. (nautical) The covering of a hatchway on an upper deck which leads to the companionway; the stairs themselves.
4. (topology) A knot in whose neighborhood another, specified knot meets every meridian disk.
5. (figuratively) A thing or phenomenon that is closely associated with another thing, phenomenon, or person.
6. (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.

7. (astronomy) A celestial object that is associated with another.
8. A knight of the lowest rank in certain orders.

   a companion of the Bath

9. (obsolete, derogatory) A fellow; a rogue.
   • 1599, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, III. i. 111:

     and let us knog our / prains together to be revenge on this same scald, scurvy, / cogging companion,

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:friend

Derived terms

Derived terms

• companionable, uncompanionable
• companionate
• companion hatch

• companion ladder
• companionship
• companionway

Related terms

• accompany, accompanying
• company

Translations

someone with whom one spends time or keeps company

• Arabic: صَاحِب‎ m (ṣāḥib)
• Bashkir: иптәш (iptäš)
• Belarusian: кампаньён m (kampanʹjón), спадаро́жнік m (spadaróžnik), спадаро́жніца f (spadaróžnica)
• Bulgarian: придружи́тел (bg) m (pridružítel), компаньо́н (bg) m (kompanjón)
• Burmese: အဖော် (my) (a.hpau)
• Catalan: acompanyant (ca) m
• Chamicuro: lota'c̈homa
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 伴侶 (zh), 伴侣 (zh) (bànlǚ), 同伴 (zh) (tóngbàn)

• Corsican: cumpagnu (co)
• Czech: společník (cs) m
• Danish: ledsager c
• Dutch: metgezel (nl) m
• Egyptian: (snnw)
• Esperanto: kunulo
• Finnish: toveri (fi), seuralainen (fi), kumppani (fi)
• French: compagnon (fr) m, compagne (fr) f
• Galician: compañeiro (gl)
• German: Begleiter (de) m, Freund (de) m, Liebhaber (de) m, Kamerad (de) m, Gefährte (de) m, Gefährtin (de) f, Kompagnon (de) m

  Alemannic German: Gspaane m

• Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌸𐌾𐌰 m (gasinþja)
• Greek: σύντροφος (el) m or f (sýntrofos)

  Ancient: ἑταῖρος m (hetaîros), ἑταίρα f (hetaíra)

• Hindi: साथी (hi) m (sāthī)
• Hungarian: társ (hu)
• Icelandic: félagi (is) m, kumpáni m
• Ido: kompano (io)
• Irish: caidreamhach
• Istriot: cunpagno m
• Italian: amico (it) m, compagno (it) m
• Japanese: 仲間 (ja) (なかま, nakama), 友人 (ja) (ゆうじん, yūjin), 同伴者 (どうはんしゃ, dōhansha)
• Kapampangan: kayabe
• Korean: 동반자 (ko) (dongbanja)

• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئاواڵ‎ (ku) (awall), ھاورێ‎ (ku) (hawrê)

• Lao: ສະຫາຽ (sa hāi), ວະຍັດ (wa nyat), ສະຂິ (sa khi)
• Latin: comes m, socius m
• Macedonian: компањон m (kompanjon), компањонка f (kompanjonka)
• Malay: teman
• Maori: takahoa
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ledsager m, kompanjong m

• Novial: kompane
• Old English: ġefēra
• Persian: دوست‎ (fa) (dust), مونس‎ (fa) (munis), همدم‎ (fa) (hamdam), یار‎ (fa) (yār)
• Polish: towarzysz (pl) m, towarzyszka (pl) f, kompan (pl) m
• Portuguese: acompanhante (pt) m or f, companheiro (pt) m
• Romanian: tovarăș (ro) m
• Russian: това́рищ (ru) m (továrišč), компаньо́н (ru) m (kompanʹón), компаньо́нка (ru) f (kompanʹónka), спу́тник (ru) m (spútnik), спу́тница (ru) f (spútnica)
• Sanskrit: द्वितीय (sa) m (dvitīya)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: компа̀њо̄н m

  Roman: kompànjōn (sh) m

• Slovak: spoločník m
• Slovene: tovariš (sl) m (1), spremljevalec m (2)
• Spanish: compañero (es) m, compañera (es) f
• Swahili: rafiki (sw)
• Swedish: följeslagare (sv) c, kompanjon (sv) c
• Tagalog: apungot, kasama
• Thai: สหาย (th) (sà-hǎai)
• Turkish: yoldaş (tr)
• Ugaritic: 𐎈𐎁𐎗 (ḥbr), 𐎗𐎓 (rʿ)
• Ukrainian: компаньйо́н m (kompanʹjón), това́риш m (továryš), супу́тник (uk) m (supútnyk), супу́тниця f (supútnycja)
• Urdu: ساتھی‎ (ur) m (sāthī)
• Vietnamese: bầu bạn (vi)

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.
   • c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene ii]:

     Companion me with my mistress.