Companion may refer to:

Relationships

Currently

* Any of several

interpersonal relationship The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...

s such as friend or acquaintance * A

domestic partner A domestic partnership is a legal relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee ...

, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregiver, such as a nurse assistant, paid to give a patient one-on-one attention

Historically

* A

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

, a long-term sexual partner not accorded the status of marriage *

Lady's companion A lady's companion was a woman of genteel birth who lived with a woman of rank or wealth as retainer. The term was in use in the United Kingdom from at least the 18th century to the mid-20th century but it is now archaic. The profession is known ...

, a historic term for a genteel woman who was paid to live with a woman of rank or wealth *

Companion cavalry The Companions ( el, , ''hetairoi'') were the elite cavalry of the Macedonian army from the time of king Philip II of Macedon, achieving their greatest prestige under Alexander the Great, and regarded as the first or among the first shock cav ...

, the elite cavalry of Alexander the Great * Foot Companion, the primary type of soldier in the army of Alexander the Great *

Companions of William the Conqueror William the Conqueror had men of diverse standing and origins under his command at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. With these and other men he went on in the five succeeding years to conduct the Harrying of the North and complete the Norman conqu ...

, those who took part in the Norman conquest of England *

Muhammad's companions The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...

, the Sahaba, the friends who surrounded the prophet of Islam

Film and television

* Companion (''Doctor Who''), a character who travels with the Doctor in the TV series ''Doctor Who'' * Companion (''Firefly''), a type of courtesan and entertainer in the TV series ''Firefly'' * ''The Companion'' (film), a 2015 Cuban film * ''The Companion'', a South Korean film of 1984 * ''The Companion'', a 1994 Universal Television film

Literature

* "The Companion" (fairy tale), a Norwegian fairy tale * "The Companion" (short story), a story by Agatha Christie in her 1932 collection ''The Thirteen Problems'' * ''The Companion'', an 1828 literary journal published by

Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centre ...

Music

* ''Companion'', a 1999 album by

Patricia Barber Patricia Barber (born November 8, 1955) is an American songwriter, composer, singer, and pianist. Biography Barber's father Floyd was a jazz saxophonist who played with Bud Freeman and Glenn Miller. She played saxophone and piano from a young ...

* "Companion", a song by Nikki Lane from the 2017 album '' Highway Queen'' * ''Companions'' (album), by Raphe Malik, 2002 * ''Companions'' (EP), by Mixtapes, 2011

Other uses

Bearhawk Companion The Barrows Bearhawk, now also called the Barrows 4-Place Bearhawk, is an American amateur-built aircraft, designed by Bob Barrows and produced by R&B Aircraft of Fincastle, Virginia, AviPro Aircraft and now Bearhawk Aircraft of Austin, T ...

, an American homebuilt aircraft design, with two seats in side-by-side configuration *

Companion 21 The Companion 21 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Aborn Smith Jr. and first built in 1981.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 94. International Marine/McGraw-Hill, 2010. Production ...

, an American sailboat design *

Companion (ship) 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. A companionway may be secured by doors or, commonly in ...

, an architectural feature of ships * Companion animal, a

pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence ...

animal kept for companionship **

Companion parrot A companion parrot is a parrot kept as a pet that interacts abundantly with its human counterpart. Generally, most species of parrot can make excellent companions, but must be carefully managed around other common pet species like dogs and cats a ...

, a pet parrot that interacts with its owner *

Companion matrix In linear algebra, the Frobenius companion matrix of the monic polynomial : p(t)=c_0 + c_1 t + \cdots + c_t^ + t^n ~, is the square matrix defined as :C(p)=\begin 0 & 0 & \dots & 0 & -c_0 \\ 1 & 0 & \dots & 0 & -c_1 \\ 0 & 1 & \dots & 0 & -c_2 ...

, a matrix with a specific relation to its characteristic polynomial ''p'' *

Companion planting Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons, including pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial insects, maximizing use of space, a ...

, planting of different crops in close physical proximity * "Companion series", a

sister show Sister shows, also known as companion series, are two or more television series which exist in the same fictional universe and which may have crossovers. They differ to a degree from spin-offs, in that they are established independently from one ...

in television *

Companion star A binary star is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separate stars, in w ...

, a star in a binary system *

Companion weapon The term companion weapon is used in historical European martial arts to refer to an item used in conjunction with the larger weapon in the non-sword hand while fencing with a rapier or sword. The popular companion weapon forms include: * sword a ...

, an object held in the non-sword hand while fencing * A

handbook A handbook is a type of reference work, or other collection of instructions, that is intended to provide ready reference. The term originally applied to a small or portable book containing information useful for its owner, but the ''Oxford Engl ...

guide book A guide book or travel guide is "a book of information about a place designed for the use of visitors or tourists". It will usually include information about sights, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, and activities. Maps of varying det ...

compendium A compendium (plural: compendia or compendiums) is a comprehensive collection of information and analysis pertaining to a body of knowledge. A compendium may concisely summarize a larger work. In most cases, the body of knowledge will concern a sp ...

e.g. ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion'' or ''

The Oxford Companion to Music ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' is a music reference book in the Book series, series of Oxford Companions produced by the Oxford University Press. It was originally conceived and written by Percy Scholes and published in 1938. Since then, it ...

'' * A member of a

Holy Royal Arch The Royal Arch is a degree of Freemasonry. The Royal Arch is present in all main masonic systems, though in some it is worked as part of Craft ('mainstream') Freemasonry, and in others in an appendant ('additional') order. Royal Arch Masons meet ...

chapter * A rank within many state-awarded orders {{disambiguation