companion

/kəmˈpæn.jən/

//kəmˈpæn.jən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"companion" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“companion” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,772. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,772
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A friend, acquaintance, or partner; someone with whom one spends time or accompanies

Corpus desk

Index EN-companion · companion · English

companion · rank #5,772 · 13 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,772
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH combine

Nearest frequency peer: combine (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “companion”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “companion” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

companion vs comparison
80% similar
companion vs compassion
80% similar
companion vs companions
90% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for companion
PropertyValue
Headwordcompanion
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəmˈpæn.jən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#5,772
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “companion”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).companionlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “combine” (#5,771), “comparing” (#5,773), “closet” (#5,770). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “companion” is #5,772. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around companion (IPA /kəmˈpæn.jən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,772 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for companion, with forms such as "ccompanion", "cmopanion", and "comapnion". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "comparison", "compassion", "companions", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English companion, from Old French compaignon (“companion”) (modern French compagnon), from Late Latin compāniōn- (nominative singular compāniō, whence French copain), from com- + pānis (literally, with + bread), a word first attested in the Fra… The correct English form is companion, spelled C-O-M-P-A-N-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A friend, acquaintance, or partner; someone with whom one spends time or accompanies
  2. 2
    A person employed to accompany or travel with another.
  3. 3
    The framework on the quarterdeck of a sailing ship through which daylight entered the cabins below.
  4. 4
    The covering of a hatchway on an upper deck which leads to the companionway; the stairs themselves.
  5. 5
    A knot in whose neighborhood another, specified knot meets every meridian disk.
  6. 6
    A thing or phenomenon that is closely associated with another thing, phenomenon, or person.
  7. 7
    An appended source of media or information, designed to be used in conjunction with and to enhance the main material.
  8. 8
    A celestial object that is associated with another.
  9. 9
    A knight of the lowest rank in certain orders.
  10. 10
    A fellow; a rogue.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how companion appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. His dog has been his trusted companion for the last five years.
  2. Heere are your Sonnes againe, and I muſt looſe / Two of the ſweet’ſt Companions in the World.

Etymology

From Middle English companion, from Old French compaignon (“companion”) (modern French compagnon), from Late Latin compāniōn- (nominative singular compāniō, whence French copain), from com- + pānis (literally, with + bread), a word first attested in the Frankish Lex Salica as a calque of a Germanic word, probably Frankish *galaibo, *gahlaibō (“messmate”, literally “with-bread”), from Proto-Germanic *gahlaibô. Compare also Old High German galeipo (“messmate”) and Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌱𐌰 (gahlaiba, “messmate”); and, for the semantics, compare Old Armenian ընկեր (ənker, “friend”, literally “messmate”). More at co-, loaf. Displaced native Old English ġefēra (literally “fellow traveler”). Compare company and mate.

This word in other languages

compañero(Español)compagnon(Français)Gefährte(Deutsch)acompanhante(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccompanion
  • cmopanion
  • comapnion
  • commpanion
  • compainon
  • companino
  • companionn
  • compannion
  • companoin
  • compnaion
  • comppanion
  • copmanion
  • ocmpanion

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of companion - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ccompanion1cmopanion2comapnion2commpanion1compainon2companino2companionn1compannion1
Edit distance from "companion"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "companion"?
"companion" is spelled C-O-M-P-A-N-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /kəmˈpæn.jən/.
What does "companion" mean?
As a noun, "companion" means: A friend, acquaintance, or partner; someone with whom one spends time or accompanies
What words are commonly confused with "companion"?
"companion" is commonly confused with "comparison", "compassion", "companions". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "companion"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "companion" is /kəmˈpæn.jən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "companion"?
From Middle English companion, from Old French compaignon (“companion”) (modern French compagnon), from Late Latin compāniōn- (nominative singular compāniō, whence French copain), from com- + pānis (literally, with + bread), a word first attested ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "companion", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

comparing#5,773demanding#5,781addresses#5,755financing#5,790

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

flexible13 variantsswitched13 variantsrequiring13 variantsreleasing13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list