Companion

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Companion, in its most common meaning, refers to a close friend or associate. The word originates in the Latin language, meaning "one who shares bread," and so often hold connotations of a comrade or "mess-mate" with whom one eats.

The word "companion" also has several distinct meanings in disparate contexts:

People

Companion is the title of the lowest rank in some military or other orders of knighthood

Companion is sometimes used to describe a person who lives with another in a paid position for the sake of company (or sometimes for sexual favors, as a concubine), and is looked on rather as a friend than a servant.

Most Muslims regard anyone who knew or saw Muhammad, believed in his teachings, and died as a Muslim to be one of the Sahaba, the Companions of the Prophet.

In the Victorian and Edwardian eras, Englishwomen who wished to travel often hired older women as "companions" to accompany them.

Alexander the Great's personal guard were known as the Companions.

Science and technology

In astronomy, the word is used for bodies of similar sizes closely associated with each other; thus, companion galaxy or companion star.

In the architecture of a ship, a "companion" or "companionway" is a raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck, with a ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main cabins. This meaning of "companion" is derived from French and Italian terms meaning "the chamber of the company," originally the name of the storeroom for provisions on board ship. The term later broadened to its current meaning.

In fiction

In the context of the television series Doctor Who, the various people who travel with and share the Doctor's adventures are sometimes referred to as "companions". See:

In the television series Firefly and the related movie Serenity, a "Companion" is a skilled and well-respected member of a guild of professional courtesans/entertainers, similar to geisha; the character Inara Serra is a licensed Companion.

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