companion

1
[ kuhm-pan-yuhn ]
See synonyms for: companioncompanionedcompanioningcompanions on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a person who is frequently in the company of, associates with, or accompanies another: my son and his two companions.

  2. a person employed to accompany, assist, or live with another in the capacity of a helpful friend.

  1. a mate or match for something: White wine is the usual companion of fish.

  2. a handbook or guide: a bird watcher's companion.

  3. a member of the lowest rank in an order of knighthood or of a grade in an order.

  4. Also called companion star, comes .Astronomy. the fainter of the two stars that constitute a double star.: Compare primary (def. 19b).

  5. Obsolete. a fellow.

verb (used with object)
  1. to be a companion to; accompany.

Origin of companion

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English compainoun, from Anglo-French; Old French compaignon, from Late Latin compāniōn- (stem of compāniō ) “messmate,” equivalent to com- “with, together” + pān(is) “bread” + -iōn- noun suffix; presumably as translation of a Germanic word; compare Gothic gahlaiba, Old High German galeipo; see com-, -ion

synonym study For companion

1. See acquaintance.

Other words for companion

Other words from companion

  • com·pan·ion·less, adjective
  • un·com·pan·ioned, adjective

Words Nearby companion

Other definitions for companion (2 of 2)

companion2
[ kuhm-pan-yuhn ]

nounNautical.
  1. a covering over the top of a companionway.

Origin of companion

2
First recorded in 1730–40; alteration of Dutch kampanje “quarterdeck,” possibly from Italian compagna “pantry (of a ship)”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use companion in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for companion (1 of 2)

companion1

/ (kəmˈpænjən) /


noun
  1. a person who is an associate of another or others; comrade

  2. (esp formerly) an employee, usually a woman, who provides company for an employer, esp an elderly woman

    • one of a pair; match

    • (as modifier): a companion volume

  1. a guidebook or handbook

  2. a member of the lowest rank of any of certain orders of knighthood

  3. astronomy the fainter of the two components of a double star

verb
  1. (tr) to accompany or be a companion to

Origin of companion

1
C13: from Late Latin compāniō, literally: one who eats bread with another, from Latin com- with + pānis bread

Derived forms of companion

  • companionless, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for companion (2 of 2)

companion2

/ (kəmˈpænjən) /


noun
  1. nautical

    • a raised frame on an upper deck with windows to give light to the deck below

    • (as modifier): a companion ladder

Origin of companion

2
C18: from Dutch kompanje quarterdeck, from Old French compagne, from Old Italian compagna pantry, perhaps ultimately from Latin pānis bread

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012