▪ I. company, n.
(ˈkʌmpənɪ)
Forms: 3 compainie, 3–5 compaygni(e, -paigny(e, -ie, -payny(e, 3–7 companye, -ie, 4 compagnie, -peynye, -ie, -payne, 6 compeigny, -pani, (5 compeney, -pony, 6 -penie, -pene), 4– company; also 4 cumpaignye, -paynye, -peny, 4–5 cumpany(e, 5 cumpane, 6 -painy, -pane.
[a. OF. cum-, compaignie, -pagnie, -pegnie, in AFr. compaynie (Britton), = Pr. companhia, Cat. company{iacu}a, Sp. compañ{iacu}a, Pg. companhia, It. compagnia, a Romanic formation in -{iacu}a on stem com-pagn-: see companion. OF. had also compagne, compaigne, compaine (:—Rom. type comˈpania, compagna), which is app. represented by compaynes in sense 8.]
1. a. Companionship, fellowship, society; † also transf. of things. in company: in the society of others, amidst other people, as opposed to alone; † also, altogether, in all (obs.).
| c 1250 Old Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. (1872) 31 Deseu[e]rd of þo compainie of gode and of alle his angles. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 6844 In whas company þai sal ay duelle. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 72 To take His compaigny. c 1440 Gesta Rom. ii. xiv. (Roxb.) 312 My sone..be wele ware of womans companye. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 372 Yet before we come there, we shall not be three hundreth in companie. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iv. iii. 54 Most glad of your Company. 1655 W. Gurnall Chr. in Arm. xv. §2 (1669) 111/2 That we may be rid of both your companies at once. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 90 ¶7, I was often in Company with a Couple of charming Women. 1872 E. Peacock Mabel Heron II. i. 2 His desire for his sister's company. 1882 J. Parker Apost. Life I. 85, I thank God I can walk out in company! |
| fig. a 1639 Wotton Rules of Arch. (1676) 9 Dorique pillar..known by his place when he is in Company, and by the peculiar Ornament of his Frize..when he is alone. |
b. Phrases.
to bear, † do, † hold, keep (a person) company: to give a person one's company; to accompany; also
to keep company of things.
to part († lose) company (with): to cease to be companions, or a companion of.
for company: for company's sake.
| c 1300 Beket 990 If eni so wod were, That Seint Thomas consaillede and cumpaignye bere. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 73 Scho bare him company. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 347 This which thou me dost for companie. c 1385 ― L.G.W. 1404 Hipsiphile & Medea, Dide hym al honour & compaynye. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 415/3 Anthonye whyche wrote hys lyf and helde hym companye. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. ii. vii, These greyhoundes shal kepe you company. 1709 Lond. Gaz. No. 4521/1 The Anglesea and Sunderland lost Company with us. 1720 De Foe Capt. Singleton vii. (1840) 116 If gold..did not..cause us to part companies. 1732 Pope Ess. Man i. 112 His faithful dog shall bear him company. 1849 Geo. Eliot Let. 4 Dec. (1954) I. 321 If you are anxious to publish the translation in question I could..finish the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus to keep it company. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 34 The little wife would weep for company. 1873 Tristram Moab xiii. 236 The oleanders and the water always keeping company, and preserving each other. 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 72 It is her place to keep me company. 1886 Morley Pattison's Mem. in Crit. Misc. III. 171 Our instructor parts company from us too soon. |
c. to keep company (with): to associate
with, frequent the society of;
esp. (
vulgar and
dial.) to associate as lovers or as a lover, to ‘court’.
| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 730 To drinke and make good cheere, and keepe company with them. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. iii. ii. 73 The Gentleman is of no hauing, hee kept companie with the wilde Prince. 1611 Bible 1 Cor. v. 11. 1715–25 W. Broome Odyssey (J. s.v. Keep), She could not approve of a young woman keeping company with men, without the permission of father or mother. 1861 Dickens Gt. Expect. vii, I offered to your sister to keep company, and to be asked in church. 1861 Sala Twice round Clock 112 The young women with whom I have (to adopt the term current in domestic service) ‘kept company’. |
d. Proverbial expressions, as
His room is better than his company,
Two's company, three's none,
Company in distress makes trouble less.
| 1617 Hieron Wks. (1619–20) II. 254 We would rather haue his roome then his companie. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. I. 113 We had rather have their Room than their Company. 1732 T. Fuller Gnomol. (Hazl.), Two is company, but three is none. 1880 Mrs. Parr Adam & Eve ix. 124 ‘Two's company and three's trumpery, my dear’. |
† 2. Sexual connexion.
Obs.| c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1453 Noght wol I knowe the compaignye of man. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour 3 Thamar that had company with her husbondes fader. 1549 Latimer 2nd Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 56 He hadde no bodilye companie wyth hyr. 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Country Farm vii. xxxiv, The female..ceaseth..to admit the companie of the male. |
3. concr. a. A number of individuals assembled or associated together; an assemblage, party, or band;
esp. one of retainers or followers; a retinue or train; also, of beasts or birds.
| c 1290 Lives Saints (1887) 88 Þe compaygnie þat..to hire cam. a 1300 K. Horn 879 Horn and his compaynye Gunne after hem. c 1340 Cursor M. 3992 (Fairf.) Of folke ij companys comis with me. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 24 Well nine and twentie in a compagnie Of sondry folk. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 111 The lusty compaignie Of foules by the morwe singe. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer 2 The gloryous company of the Apostles. 1611 Bible Song Sol. i. 9 A company of horses in Pharaohs chariots. 1652 Needham tr. Selden's Mare Cl. 99 A companie of above thirtie the most eminent among them [Lawyers]. 1864 Couch Brit. Fishes III. 158 It [Turbot] appears to wander..in small companies. 1870 L'Estrange Miss Mitford I. ii. 37 The company in the inside [of the coach]..being tolerably quiet. |
† b. An assemblage, collection, or multitude of things.
Obs.| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 27 It putteth out a great company of small rootes. 1605 T. Hutton Reason for Refusal 41 An infinite company of the like instances might be giuen. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. ii. iii. vii. (1651) 359 Cotys..that brake a company of fine glasses presented to him. 1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. ii. vii. 203 The infinite company of Islands lying between the Continent of China and Nova Guinea. |
† c. Formerly
great company, and the like, were used in the sense of ‘a great number’:
cf. colloquial ‘great lot’.
Obs.| a 1275 Prov. ælfred xxxiv. 709 in O.E. Misc. 138 Þuru þis lore and genteleri, he amendit huge companie. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 370 Gret compaynye of hey men..were þo in Scotlonde. c 1325 Metr. Hom. 160 Scho..saw com gret compaynye Of fair maidens. |
4. collect. a. Persons casually or temporarily brought into local association, travelling companionship, etc. More loosely, with the notion of companionship obscured, ‘People such as prevent solitude or privacy’; and so applicable to a single person.
Obs. exc. as referred to 5.
| c 1440 York Myst. xx. 12 Hamward I rede we hye..Because of Company Þat will wende in oure waye. c 1540 Pilgr. T. 168 in Thynne's Animadv. (1865) 82, I was my-selue, & company had non. 1542 Boorde Dyetary xxxii. (1870) 294 Where there is great resorte of company..in churche, in sessyons, and market-places. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. v. 26 But soft, Company is comming here. [Enter Vincentio.] 1693 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) III. 18 Company coming in, they made off, and left the dead man behind on Blackheath. 1722 Journ. thro' Eng. I. 76 Its [Hampstead's] nearness to London brings so many loose Women..that modest Company are asham'd to appear here. Mod. I hoped we should be private here, but I find we have company. |
b. The person or persons with whom one voluntarily or habitually associates; companions or associates collectively,
esp. with reference to their character; in various phrases, as
to know a man by his company,
to keep good or bad company,
to be addicted to low company, etc.
| 1601 Dent Pathw. Heaven 312 As a man is, so is his company. 1620 Shelton Quix. III. xxiii. 162 You shall know the Parson by his Company. 1770 Burke Pres. Discont. Wks. 1842 I. 152 Unfortunate in the choice of his political company. |
| fig. 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Church-porch xxiii, Houses are built by rule, and common-wealths..Who lives by rule then, keeps good companie. |
c. good company,
bad company, and the like, are said of one or more persons with reference to their companionable qualities; also
fig. of things.
| 1637 Sir H. Blount Voy. Levant (ed. 2) 8 Drinke..which made them fitter company for the Divell, then for a Christian. 1653 Walton Angler 2 Good company makes the way seem shorter. Ibid. 46 At Trout-Hal..there is usually an Angler that proves good company. 1670 Eachard Cont. Clergy 36 Now, such stuff [Greek and Latin] being out of fashion, is esteemed but very bad company. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 462 ¶1 He is very pleasant Company. 1845 Ford Handbk. Spain i. 47 No company is better than bad company. 1870 Emerson Soc. & Solit. Wks. (Bohn) III. 3 Dante was very bad company, and was never invited to dinner. 1887 Hall Caine Deemster xl. 261 He [the dog] was now my constant company. |
5. a. A gathering of people for social intercourse or entertainment; a social party; a circle. Formerly a reunion or assembly of more public character.
| [c 1325 Kindh. Jesu 1727 in O.E. Leg. (Horstm. 1875), Win bigan to failli To þat ilke compaygni.] 1653 Walton Angler 46 Another of the company that shall be nameless. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. v. ix. (1675) 328 As welcome as she is unto the best Companies. 1727 Swift Gulliver ii. i. 103 Drank to her ladyship's health..which made the company laugh. 1774 Chesterfield Lett. I. Advt. 14 He presumed his Son might thereby be domesticated in the best foreign companies. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. 219 Talked of..in public companies at..Berlin. 1851 Helps Friends in C. I. 1, I can add little or nothing to the pleasure of any company. |
b. (without
a or
pl.). Guests collectively; one or more persons invited or entertained.
| 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 45 My company stay my comming. 1649 Jer. Taylor Gt. Exemp. ii. 2 They had more company than wine. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. vii. §34 Company came in, which put an end to our conversation. 1775 Johnson Let. Mrs. Thrale 10 June, Hector had company in his house. 1883 Lloyd Ebb & Flow II. 97, I see some more company arriving. |
c. Society.
arch. (
attrib.: see 10.)
| 1576 Fleming Panop. Epist. 372 Ignoraunce is suche an impediment in man..it maketh him unfit for good companie. a 1687 Petty Pol. Arith. (1690) 73 To put on better Apparel when he appears in Company. a 1700 Dryden (J.), Conversation with the best company of both sexes. 1767 Fordyce Serm. Yng. Women (ed. 4) I. i. 26 To let them see Company. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) vi. Concl., The practice of ‘going into company’ as the phrase is. |
d. In the phrase
to transgress, etc., in good company there is association of senses 4 and 5.
| 1817 Edin. Mag. Aug., Though it was a disgrace for ladies to be seen drunk, yet it was none to be a little intoxicated in good company. 1888 M. Morris Claverhouse i. 6 In this respect at least Claverhouse sinned in good company. 1888 R. P. Laurie in Times 17 Aug. 8/6 If I am wrong, I have erred in very good company. |
6. a. A body of persons combined or incorporated for some common object, or for the joint execution or performance of anything;
esp. a mediæval trade guild, and hence, a corporation historically representing such, as in the London ‘City Companies’.
| 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 35 The dettes þat he owen to Alderman & þe compayne. 1497–8 Old City Acc. Bk. in Archæol. Jrnl. XLIII, A writing sealid by the hoole Compeigny. 1535 Bury Wills (1850) 125, I gyff and bequethe to the company of Ihc colege in Bury. 1540 Act 32 Hen. VIII, c. 42 §4 Except hee be a Freeman of the same Corporation and Company. a 1600 Hooker Eccl. Pol. vi. v. §9 The bequeathing of..ample possessions to religious companies. 1839 Penny Cycl. XIV. 118/2 In the city of London there are 89 companies or guilds, eight of which are practically extinct..Most of the companies possess what is called a livery. 1868 Bright Sp. on Ireland 14 March, I never heard of much good that was done by all the money of the London Companies. 1884 Daily News 23 Sept. 3/2 [Hopping] It takes ten persons and five bins to make a ‘company’, two persons working to a bin. |
b. A party of players, a theatrical corps; formerly also a band of musicians.
| 1503 in Leland Coll. (1770) III. App. 265 Amonge the saide lordes and the qweene was in order Johannes and his companye, the minstrills of musicke, etc. 1613 in Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) I. 253 Burbage's company were acting at the Globe the play of Henry VIII. 1716 Lady M. W. Montague Lett. xviii, The king's company of French comedians play here every night. a 1734 Dennis (J.), There were seven companies of players in the town. 1872 Morley Voltaire (1886) 111 The rigour of the rule did not forbid theatrical performances, when any company, even a company of marionettes, came into the neighbourhood. |
7. Commerce.
a. An association formed to carry on some commercial or industrial undertaking.
‘When there are only a few individuals associated, it is most commonly called a
copartnery, the term
company being usually applied to large associations..who conduct their operations by means of agents acting under the orders of a Board of directors’ (M{supc}Culloch
Dict. Comm. s.v.).
exclusive or joint stock company: one having a certain amount of
joint stock (
q.v.) divided into transferable shares, and managed for the common advantage of the shareholders by a body of responsible directors.
open company or
regulated company: one which does not possess a joint stock, the members trading on their own stock and at their own risk.
chartered company: see
chartered.
limited (liability) company: one in which the liability of the members is limited, usually to the amount of capital subscribed by each.
John Company (the East India Company): see
John.
| 1553 Note in Hakluyt Voy. (1589) 265 The mysteree and company of the Marchants Aduenturers of the Citie of London. 1599 Minute-bk. E. Ind. Co. in H. Stevens Dawn Brit. Trade (1886) 10 That ther Ll. would..geave the Companie a warraunt to proceade in the viage. 1694 Child Disc. Trade (ed. 4) 110 Companies of Merchants are of two sorts, viz. Companies in joint stock, such as the East-India-Company, the Morea-Company..and the Greenland-Company..the other sorts are Companies who trade not by a joint stock, but only are under a government and regulation, such are the Hamborough-Company, the Turkey-Company, the Eastland-Company, the Muscovia-Company. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. v. i. (1869) II. 325 In a joint-stock company..each member can..transfer his share to another person, and thereby introduce a new member. 1800 [see chartered 1]. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xvi, The Mall..is lined by the stately houses of banking companies, railway companies, and insurance companies. 1863 Burton Bk. Hunter 251 Scott used to say that the Bannatyne Club was the only successful joint-stock company he ever invested in. 1889 Times Dec., The South Metropolitan Gas Company and the Stokers' Strike. |
b. The partner or partners in a firm whose names are not included in the style or title; generally contracted to ,
comp. Usu. in
phr. and Company. Also
transf. (
cf. 3).
| 1569 Depos. John Hawkins in Arb. Garner V. 231 The said Sir William Garrard and Company, did also then provide, prepare, and lade in those ships much wares. 1677 Lond. Direct. (1878), Mr. Sherbrook, Company, with Mr. Clark in Cheapside. 1877 (title), A Catalogue of Standard Works published by Charles Griffin & Company. 1898 G. B. Shaw Our Theatres in Nineties (1932) III. 318 This..is the distinction between Marlowe and Company and the firm of Beaumont and Fletcher. 1963 Listener 7 Feb. 261/3 The high-placed moderates on the Parliamentary side (Essex, Manchester, and company). |
c. the Company, the Central Intelligence Agency: see
C.I.A.
s.v. C III.
U.S. colloq.| 1967 Wentworth & Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang Suppl. 678/2 Company, the, n., the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or a metropolitan police force. 1975 P. Agee (title) Inside the company. 1978 G. Vidal Kalki iii. 47 Actually, I am a special agent of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States Government. Sometimes known as The Company. 1982 Listener 16 Dec. 3/3 The Americans working (presumably) for ‘the Company’, as the CIA is universally known, are privately scathing about the failure of positive vetters. |
8. Mil. a. A body of soldiers;
† a host, a troop.
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 58 A prest..is an aungel of þe lord of compaynes. c 1450 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 562/30 Alaris, a company of hors. 1535 Coverdale Judg. vii. 20 All the thre companies blewe with y⊇ trompettes, and brake the pitchers. 1636 Blunt Voy. Levant 6 The Venetians..keepe it with strong companies both of Horse and Foot. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xx. 105 A very small company of souldiers, surprised by an army. 1727–51 Chambers Cycl. s.v., The French..also have their free companies who never enter the body of any regiment, and companies of ordonnance who..consist of the gendarmes and light-horse. 1874 Boutell Arms & Arm. vii. 101 At the first each body, uniform and complete in itself, formed a company. |
b. spec. A sub-division of an infantry regiment commanded by a captain, and corresponding to a
troop of horse and a
battery of artillery.
independent company: ‘A Company of Foot-Soldiers..that is not imbody'd in a Regiment’ (Kersey 1708).
| 1590 Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons 7 Such great bands..are..readie..to bee employed in whole companies under their Captaines. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iv. ii. 46 There's not a Shirt and a halfe in all my Company. 1598 Barret Theor. Warres ii. i. 15 The Campe-maister deuides his regiment into companies. 1642 Declar. Lords & Com. for Raising Forces 22 Dec. 7 That the Dragooners be put into Companies, And that one hundred and twelve be allotted to a Company. 1644 Milton Educ. (1738) 137 To the convenience of a foot company, or interchangeably two Troops of Cavalry. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 242, I..sold my company in the..regiment. 1844 Regul. & Ord. Army 135 Captains are to pay their own Troops and Companies. |
9. Naut. † a. A fleet of merchant vessels.
Obs.| 1530 Palsgr. 207/2 Company or meyny of shippes, flotte. 1751 Chambers Cycl., Company of Ships ..a fleet of merchant-vessels, who make a kind of charter-party among themselves..they engage not to quit one another, but to defend each other reciprocally, during their voyage. These associates, in the Mediterranean, are called conserves. |
b. (in full
ship's company) ‘The whole crew of any ship, including her officers, men, and boys.’
| 1610 Shakes. Temp. ii. ii. 178 The King, and all our company else being dround. 1667 Pepys Diary (1879) IV. 444 Two of our ship's companies did desert their ship. 1694 Narborough Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1711) 43, I doubted not the success of my Voyage, though the Company thought twould be dangerous. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. ix. 213 The..ship's company consisted of sixty-five men. 1836 Marryat Midsh. Easy xxvii, The ship's company were mustered. |
10. attrib. and
Comb., as (sense 5)
company-china,
company-face,
company-manners,
company-trim; (sense 7)
company-account,
company car,
company director,
company-fund,
company promoter (
cf. promoting vbl. n. 1 and
ppl. a. 2),
company-promoting,
company store (
U.S.),
company tenement;
company-owned adj.; (sense 8)
company-drill,
company-match,
company-officer;
company-boat (see
quot.);
company-keeper, one who keeps company; (
a) a frequenter of company,
esp. in bad sense, a reveller; (
b) a ‘follower,’ wooer; also
company-keeping n. and attrib.;
company man (
orig. U.S.), one who is thought by his fellow-workers to be excessively attached to, or uncritically to share the attitudes of, the organization for which he works (see also
quot. 1921);
company sergeant-major, the senior warrant officer of a company;
company town (
orig. U.S.), a town which is dependent upon a particular commercial company;
company union (see
quot. 1921);
company work, needlework, etc., which might be done in the presence of guests.
| 1660 T. Willsford Scales Commerce ii. iv. 212 What things soever a Merchant delivers..whether for Proper, Factorage, or *Company-account in money or wares..is Creditor. |
| 1872 H. W. Taunt Map of Thames 31/2 My boat is what is termed in Oxford phrase, a *Company boat..a broad gig, with side-seats from the back rail, and an awning. |
| 1961 Guardian 6 May 14/3 The Budget proposal to limit the capital tax allowance on *company cars to {pstlg}2,000. |
| 1866 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 336 Ten cups of *company-china. |
| 1900 Hansard Commons 26 June 1171 Rather undue importance is attached to the question of the qualification of *company directors. 1963 Observer 3 Nov. 33/1 ‘Company director’ and ‘model’ are useful euphemisms for those who appear in dubious court cases. |
| 1890 Glasgow Herald 18 Aug. 10/1 The movements included *company drill, manual and firing exercises. |
| c 1805 M. Edgeworth Wks. (Rtldg.) I. 340 Miss Fanshaw had now resumed her *company face and attitude. 1855 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 259, I have had to put on my company face to-night. |
| a 1655 Roxb. Ballads VI. 368 Rather than such a Jack as thee should'st be my *company-keeper, I'll marry with a Beggar-man. 1668 Pepys Diary 30 May, One Richards, a tailor and great company-keeper. 1756 W. Toldervy Two Orphans III. 202 Company-keepers of froward and skittish women. 1877 E. Peacock N.W. Lincolnsh. Gloss., Company-keeper, a female companion to a lady. ‘Faber's wife used to be comp'ny-keeper to Miss Alexander’. |
| 1592 A. Day Eng. Secretarie (1625) 141 Your *company-keeping is..without any order..your pastime recklesse. 1626 W. Fenner Hidden Manna (1652) A 4 b, He knowes that drunkennesse and company-keeping is a sinne. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xii, A company-keeping, love-making, pleasant sort of manner. |
| 1844 E. Sewell Amy Herbert ii. xviii. 13 What are sometimes called ‘*company manners’,—not meaning exactly affectation, but a manner approaching to it, which is not quite natural. 1861 Dickens Gt. Expect. xxiii, Keeping a bashful watch upon my company-manners. |
| 1921 Bull. Bureau of Business Research, Harvard Univ. xxv. 17 *Company Men. 1. Employees who are looked upon by some of their fellow workers as favoring too strongly the interests of the employer. 2. A term applied by union members to men who are engaged or suspected to be engaged by the employer for espionage; sometimes referred to ironically as ‘loyal workers’. 3. Salaried employees. 1969 Listener 24 July 125/3 One drawback of big companies like IPC is that they produce company men. 1969 Guardian 27 Sept. 9/8 The most dedicated ‘company man’..will tell you what a fool he has been to stay with the firm. |
| 1844 Regul. & Ord. Army 226 *Company Officers, comprehending Captains and Subalterns. |
| 1907 Westm. Gaz. 24 June 2/1 The considerations which apply to (say) municipal trams cannot apply to *company-owned tubes. |
| 1928 B. Russell Sceptical Essays 65 The phraseology..is that of the company-promoter rather than the philosopher. |
| 1890 Pall Mall G. 3 July 2/2 *Company-promoting has become a business. |
| 1889 Queen's Regs. i. vii. 78 The following positions held by Non-Commissioned Officers and men of the army are ranks:—..Troop, battery, or *company serjeant-major. 1893 W. S. Gilbert Utopia 1, A *Company promotor this. 1894 Company promotor [see promoter 1 c]. 1913 Army Order 323 §5 In each company there will be eventually a company serjeant-major and a company quartermaster-serjeant. For the present the duties of these appointments will be carried out by the existing colour-serjeants. 1919 G. K. Rose 2/4th Oxf. & Bucks Lt. Infty. 125 Moberly, Company Sergeant-Major Cairns, and Guest..greatly distinguished themselves in the task of maintaining this exposed position. |
| 1872 Harper's Mag. Nov. 841/1 A ‘*company store’, which is so common elsewhere, especially with joint-stock companies. 1907 E. Wharton Fruit of Tree i. ii. 21 A row of operatives' houses..then the company ‘store’. |
| 1907 E. Wharton Fruit of Tree ii. xii. 187 The suppression of the *company tenement..struck at the roots of the baneful paternalism. |
| 1933 E. Caldwell God's Little Acre vii. 107 They passed through the other *company towns,..looking out at the humming mills. 1963 P. Willmott Evol. Community ii. 16 The firm does not dominate the estate. Dagenham is far from being a ‘company town’. |
| 1879 F. W. Robinson Coward Consc. ii. ix, Marcus found a dress-suit for his brother, and put him once more into *company-trim. |
| 1917 R. F. Hoxie Trade Unionism 51 There are virtually no ‘*company’ unions in Great Britain. 1921 W. R. Browne What's What in Labor Movement 90 Company Union, an organization of workers within a particular shop or establishment, and having no connection or association with what employers call an ‘outside union’. 1962 Listener 31 May 947/1 To smash what was known as the company union. |
| 1844 C. M. Yonge Abbeychurch xi. 232 ‘You have been six months braiding that frock.’ ‘Oh! that is *company work... I began it at Merton Hall.’ 1864 Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. vi, Having arranged her hair and dress, and taken out her company worsted-work. 1952 G. Raverat Period Piece viii. 148 In those days..every lady had a piece of ‘company work’ in hand. |
Add:
[8.] c. A local unit of the (Girl) Guide movement; equivalent to the Scouts'
troop.| 1909 Boy Scouts' Headquarters' Gaz. Nov. 12/2 Girl Guides. Training and Organisation. Uniform.—Jersey of Company Colour..Skirt, Knickers, Stockings dark blue. 1914 Girl Guides' Gaz. Feb. 3/1 We have done the work that scores of other Companies have done... We remain at four Patrols of eight girls each. 1969 Policy, Organisation & Rules of Girl Guides Assoc. (ed. 33) 42 The Guide Guider and the Assistant Guide Guider are the adult leaders of the Company. 1983 Guide Handbk. 36 Some of the things you do will be done with your Guider and all the Guides in your Company. |
▪ II. company, v. (
ˈkʌmpənɪ)
Forms: see
prec. n. [a. OF. compaignie-r, f. as compaignon companion.] 1. trans. To go in company with, to accompany; to keep company with, have society with.
arch.| c 1340 Cursor M. 12379 (Trin.) Whenne þei had companyed him so Forþ in pees he bad hem go. 1494 Fabyan vi. clxxii. 167 Dayly resorted to hym men of Wylshyre..tyll y{supt} he was strongly companyed. 1526 Tindale Acts x. 28 A jewe to company or to come unto an alient. 1574 J. Jones Nat. Beginning Grow. Things 19 If a contagious..person shall frequent and company one not infected. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. v. v. 408, I am Sir The Souldier that did company these three. 1616 Drummond of Hawthornden Sonn. 6 Best companied when most I am alone. 1623 Cockeram 11, Vnfit to Company any one. Insociable. 1798 Southey Monodr., Ximalpoca, He shall..company Down to the western palace of his rest The Prince of Glory. 1814 Cary Dante (Chandos ed.) 209 The fair dame{ddd}companied By Statius and myself, pursued the wheel. |
| fig. a 1625 Fletcher Q. Corinth iii. i, Your goodness companies your greatness. 1718 Prior Poems 477 Rage companies our Hate. |
† 2. To associate in companionship.
Obs.| c 1450 Merlin xxii. 388 The xl knyghtes that with hem were companyed. 1534 Whittinton Tullyes Offices 1 (1540) 23 Reason..doth allure and companyeth men togythers by a naturall socyete. 1590 Marlowe Edw. II, v. i, To company my heart with sad laments. |
3. intr. To keep company, associate, or consort.
| 1387 Trevisa Descr. Brit. (Caxton) 35 Bicause they companye with englisshmen. 1503 Hawes Examp. Virt. ix. 168 Praynge me to company with her noblenesse. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Matt. ix. 58, I cumpany with the Publicains and sinners. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iii. xlii. 288 To have companyed with the first and prime Apostles. 1842 H. E. Manning Serm. (1848) I. xxv. 378 Those with whom we have here companied through the long years of our earthly sojourn. 1885 Ld. Coleridge in Law Rep. 15 Q. Bench 137 Sending a sane man to company with madmen. |
† b. To cohabit (
with).
| c 1400 Mandeville xxviii. (1839) 288 What man..that hathe companyed with hire. 1579 Fulke Heskins' Parl. 93 They had companyed with their wiues. 1605 Sylvester Du Bartas i. ii. (1641) 12/2 The lusty Heav'n with Earth doth company. 1680 Answ. Stillingfleet's Serm. 21 Unlawful to company with any other Woman as his own Wife. |
c. absol. in
prec. senses.
| 1611 Bible Susanna 58 Vnder what tree didst thou take them companying together? 1643 J. Burroughes Exp. Hosea xvi. (1652) 424 When men seek to company for their own ends. 1833 Chalmers Const. Man (1835) I. vi. 265 When men of very acute sensibilities company together. |
† 4. intr. ‘To be a gay companion’ (J.).
Obs.| 1591 Spenser M. Hubberd 506 If thee list unto the Court to throng..there thou needs must learne, to laugh, to lie, To face, to forge, to scoffe, to companie. |
Hence
ˈcompanying vbl. n.| 1550 Bale Apol. 35 A companyenge of men with their owne wyves. 1577 Test. 12 Patriarchs 29 Continual companyings do not always work wickedness. 1608–11 Bp. Hall Epist. iii. ix. (1627) 331 Companying with infidels may not be simply condemned. 1648 G. Gillespie Usefull Case (1649) 5 A conversing and companying with wicked persons. |