companion

kuhm-PAN-yuhn/kəmˈpænjən/

12 meanings of companion

1
friendnouncountable
A friend, acquaintance, or partner: someone you spend time with or who goes along with you.
He crossed Europe by train with an old companion from his college days.
Her companions on the climb were all experienced mountaineers.
Similarfriend, comrade, partner, associate
Note
In English the word reaches easily beyond people, and a trusted dog is as much a companion as an old friend.
2
goes along withnounfigurativelycountable
A thing or phenomenon closely associated with another thing, event, or person.
Anxiety can be an unwelcome companion during long periods of uncertainty.
Rising prices are a familiar companion to rapid economic growth.
Similaraccompaniment, concomitant
3
extra materialnouncountablebefore a noun
An added source of media or information designed to be used alongside the main material and to enhance it.
The museum released a digital companion to the exhibition, full of interviews and maps.
Each chapter ships with a companion that explains the harder ideas in plain language.
UsageFollowed by to: a companion to the exhibition. Also before a noun: a companion guide.
Similarguide, supplement
4
in spacenouncountable
A celestial object, such as a star, that is physically associated with another.
Sirius has a dim white-dwarf companion that astronomers first saw in 1862.
The large galaxy is slowly pulling in its smaller companion.
Similarsatellite
Note
Astronomers use it for a member of a physical pair, usually the lesser one. A star in a binary system is the companion of its brighter primary, and a small galaxy is the companion of the larger host it orbits. The bond is gravitational, not a matter of where objects happen to appear. Two stars that merely line up as seen from Earth are not true companions.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
A companion need not be the lesser member: astronomers also describe brighter, more massive stars as companions. science.nasa.gov
The fainter member of a binary can be described as the companion of its brighter primary. itu.physics.uiowa.edu
A smaller galaxy orbiting a larger host is a companion galaxy. en.wikipedia.org
The association in a physical stellar system is gravitational. science.nasa.gov
They are not physical companions, but astronomers can call an unrelated foreground or background star an optical companion. arxiv.org
5
honor ranknouncountable
A member of an order of honor who holds the grade of Companion, the lowest grade in some orders and the highest in others.
She was appointed a companion of the order in recognition of her scientific work.
The list of honors named him a companion rather than a full knight.
UsageUsually companion of plus the order's name: a companion of the Order of Canada.
Note
The word keeps its old sense of fellowship, since members of an order are companions of one another. It also marks rank, which varies: the lowest of three grades in the Order of the Bath, the top grade in the Order of Canada. Being a companion does not make someone a knight.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
The honorific retains the idea of membership in a fellowship. thegazette.co.uk
Companion is the lowest of three grades in the Order of the Bath. royal.uk
Companion is the highest grade in the Order of Canada. gg.ca
Appointment to the grade of Companion does not itself confer knighthood. veterans.gc.ca

Less common meanings

6
paid helpernoundatedcountable
A person employed to accompany another or to travel with them.
The wealthy spinster engaged a companion to manage her social calls.
For years she worked as a lady's companion in a grand country house.
UsageOften in a lady's companion. To avoid ambiguity today, say paid companion when you mean the job.
Similarattendant, chaperone, escort
Note
Here companionship is a paid post rather than a friendship, and the usage now feels dated. It calls up the households of an earlier age, where a lady's companion was a recognized position.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Companion could denote a paid position. en.wikipedia.org
Lady's companion was an established position in historical households. en.wikipedia.org
7
verbliterary
To be a companion to someone; to attend on or accompany them.
we had better turn south quickly and compare the elements of education which formed , and of creation which companioned , Salvator .
1865, John Ruskin, Precious Thoughts
Note
Turned into a verb (companion, companioned, companioning), the noun gave a literary way of saying accompany. It lingered in elevated prose. John Ruskin wrote of the elements "of creation which companioned" Salvator.
8
nounderogatoryobsolete
A fellow, especially a low or disreputable one; a rogue.
[L]et vs knog our praines together to be reuenge on this ſame ſcall ſcuruy-cogging-companion the Hoſt of the Garter.
c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”
Note
In Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor (c. 1597) a character rails against "this same scall, scurvy, cogging companion, the Host of the Garter." The contempt comes from the surrounding words and tone, which a modern reader can easily miss.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
William Shakespeare wrote The Merry Wives of Windsor. shakespearedocumented.folger.edu
The play was first published in 1602, as recorded on its first-edition title page. Approximately 1597 is a proposed composition date, not its first-publication year. shakespearedocumented.folger.edu
9
verbobsolete
To qualify as a companion; to make equal or rank on the same level.
Finde me to marrie me with Octauius Cæſar, and companion me with my Miſtris.
c. 1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”
Note
Here the verb is about rank rather than company: to companion one person with another is to set them on the same level. Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra (c. 1606–1607) has the wish to "companion me with my Mistris." The construction with with is the clue that separates it from the "accompany" verb, which takes a plain object.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
The verb has an obsolete sense meaning to make equal. en.wiktionary.org
William Shakespeare wrote Antony and Cleopatra. folger.edu
The play contains the quoted wish; its speaker is Charmian. folger.edu
10
noun
The covering of a hatchway on a ship's upper deck leading down to the cabins, or the flight of steps itself.
11
noun
A framework on a sailing ship's quarterdeck that served to admit daylight to the cabins underneath.
12
noun
In knot theory, a knot in whose surrounding space another specified knot meets every meridian disk.

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Middle English companion, from Old French compaignon, from Late Latin compāniō, built from com- + pānis, literally "with bread." This was likely a calque of a Germanic word for "messmate" (probably Frankish *galaibo), and it displaced the native Old English ġefēra, "fellow traveler."

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 7 facts

Companion comes through Middle English companion from Old French compaignon. en.wiktionary.org
The Old French word derives from Late Latin compāniō. en.wiktionary.org
The Latin formation combines elements meaning with and bread. en.wiktionary.org
The Latin word was a calque of a Germanic word meaning messmate. en.wiktionary.org
Frankish *galaibo is a proposed source. en.wiktionary.org
Companion displaced native Old English ġefēra. en.wiktionary.org
Ġefēra literally means fellow traveler. en.wiktionary.org