Everyday lifeFood & drink

companion

A companion is literally someone you share bread with: Late Latin com- 'with' + pānis 'bread', a word probably modelled on a Germanic term for 'messmate' and first found in the Frankish law code. French passed it back to German as Kumpan and on to Spanish, Italian and Russian.

Weakest linkProbable

The road to English

From Old French to French

From Old French to Middle High German, German

From Old French to French, Russian

From Late Latin to Italian

From Late Latin to Spanish

From Late Latin to Portuguese

From Late Latin to Catalan

500 CEFrankish

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

The road to English

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