Etymologically
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company

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkʌm.pə.ni/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English companie, compainie,[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman compaynie, Old French compaignie (“society, friendship; a body of soldiers”),[2][5][6] from compain (“companion”),[2][4][7] from Late Latin compāniō (“companion, literally bread-fellow, messmate”),[2][5][4] from com- (“with, together”) and pānis (“bread”).[5][8][9] The American Heritage Dictionary and Klein derive the Old French word from Vulgar Latin *compānia.[3][9] The Shorter Oxford notes the influence of Italian compagnia on the commercial sense and of French compagnie on the military one.[6] Johnson derived it from con- and either pāgus (“village”) or pānis.[10] See companion.[3][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

A large group of people (about 1150 in Barnhart, mid-12th century in Etymonline).[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The sense “companionship, fellowship, society” is recorded from 1275 in Barnhart, late 13th century in Etymonline.[2][5] In Middle English company could also mean sexual union (about 1300 to the early 17th century).[5][6] A body of soldiers, as a synonym of “army” or “host”, is found before 1300 in Kyng Alisaunder;[12] as a subdivision of an infantry regiment it dates from 1590.[12][13] The word was used of trade guilds from 1303, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne,[12] and developed the commercial sense “business association” by 1553.[2][5][13] The sense “guests, visitors” dates from 1578, “the persons with whom one associates” from about 1600, and keep company from the 1560s.[13][5] A ship's crew has been its company since 1570, and a theatrical company is a later use.[13][3] The abbreviation Co. dates from the 1670s.[5] Two's company is attested from 1849, followed variously by three is none, three's trumpery (1864) and three's a crowd (1856).[5] In American slang the Company has meant the Central Intelligence Agency since the 1950s,[13][14] and in South African history the Dutch East India Company.[15]

Timeline

  • c. 1150 – a large group of people.[2][5]
  • 1275 – companionship, fellowship.[2]
  • before 1300 – a body of soldiers.[12]
  • c. 1300 – sexual union (obsolete); bear company.[5]
  • 1303 – a trade guild.[12]
  • 1340 – verb, to accompany.[16]
  • 1553 – a business association.[2]
  • 1560s – keep company.[5]
  • 1570 – a ship's crew.[13]
  • 1578 – guests, visitors.[13]
  • 1590 – a subdivision of an infantry regiment.[12][13]
  • 1670s – the abbreviation Co..[5]
  • 1849 – two's company.[5]
  • 1953 – the Company, the CIA (US slang).[13]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A commercial business; a firm.
  2. The fact of being with another or others; companionship: I enjoy her company.
  3. One's companions or associates: known by the company she keeps.
  4. A visitor or visitors; guests: expecting company.
  5. A group of people gathered together.
  6. A body of soldiers, especially a subdivision of an infantry battalion.
  7. A group of actors, singers or dancers who perform together.
  8. The officers and crew of a ship.
  9. The partners in a firm not named in its title, as in Smith and Company.

Verb

  1. (archaic) To accompany, or to associate with.

Word family

  • companyless
  • intercompany
  • subcompany
  • intracompany
  • company man
  • company officer
  • company store

Usage notes

Random House calls company the general word for any group of people associated formally or informally, as against band, a relatively small group with a shared purpose, party and troop.[17] The American Heritage Dictionary groups it with band among words for a group of persons.[3]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  3. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  11. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  12. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  14. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  15. ^ A Dictionary of South African English on Historical Principles, Dictionary Unit for South African English, https://dsae.co.za
  16. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  17. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House