Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Companion \Com*pan"ion\, n. [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. --Shak.
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. compa[~n]a 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.
{Companion hatch} (Naut.), a wooden porch over the entrance
or staircase of the cabin.
{Companion ladder} (Naut.), the ladder by which officers
ascend to, or descend from, the quarter-deck. --Totten.
{Companion way} (Naut.), a staircase leading to the cabin.
{Knights companions}, in certain honorary orders, the members
of the lowest grades as distinguished from knights
commanders, knights grand cross, and the like.
Syn: Associate; comrade; mate; compeer; partner; ally;
confederate; coadjutor; accomplice.
Companion \Com*pan"ion\, v. 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. --Shak.
Source : WordNet®
companion
n 1: a person who is frequently in the company of another;
"drinking companions"; "comrades in arms" [syn: {comrade},
{fellow}, {familiar}, {associate}]
2: a traveler who accompanies you [syn: {fellow traveler}, {fellow
traveller}]
3: one paid to accompany or assist or live with another
companion
v : be a companion to somebody [syn: {company}, {accompany}, {keep
company}]