From an etymological point of view, a companion is anyone who shares a loaf of bread with you: the word derives from the Latin cum, meaning with or together, and the Latin panis, meaning bread. Companion entered English at the end of the thirteenth century, about the same time that the related form company was introduced. The original significance of breaking bread with another person is still evident in the sacrament of the Christian Eucharist: the consecrated bread of communion establishes a holy bond among those who partake of it. A third word, now obsolete, that derives from the same source is companage; from the early fourteenth century to the late seventeenth century this useful word referred to anything eaten with bread, including butter, cheese, or meat but excluding wine, beer, and milk.<\/p>\n
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From an etymological point of view, a companion is anyone who shares a loaf of bread with you: the word derives from the Latin cum, meaning with or together, and the Latin panis, meaning bread. Companion entered English at the end of the thirteenth century, about the same time that the related form company was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-c"],"yoast_head":"\n