entourage

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɒn.tʊ.ɹɑːʒ/, /ˈɑ̃ː.tʊ.ɹɑːʒ/ (UK); /ˈɑn.tə.ɹɑʒ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French entourage,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from entourer “to surround”,^[2][3][4][5] from Old French entour “that which surrounds, around”,^[2][3][4][5] from en “in” and tour “circuit”.^[2][3][4][5] It is related to tour.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Surroundings or environment (1832–34), a word taken up by De Quincey.^[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The specific sense of the people who surround a person of importance was recorded in English by 1860,^[3][4] and it is now the main sense.^[2][5][6]

Timeline

• 1832–34 – surroundings, environment.^[7][3][4]
• 1860 – a group of attendants.^[3][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A group of attendants or associates; a retinue.
2. One's surroundings or environment.

Usage notes

Random House gives retinue, following, cortege and escort as synonyms.^[6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press