# henchman

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhɛnt͡ʃ.mən/ · frequency rank #32,435

## Definitions
1. A loyal and trusted follower or subordinate.
2. A person who supports a political figure chiefly out of selfish interests.
3. An assistant member of a criminal gang.
4. A page to a prince or other person of high rank.

## Etymology
From Middle English henxman (“page, attendant”), from Old English *hengstmann, *hengestmann (“groom”, literally “horseman”), from hengst, hengest (“stallion, horse, steed, gelding”) (from Proto-Germanic *hangistaz (“stallion”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱanḱest-, *kankest- (“horse”)) + mann (“man”). Cognate with archaic German Hengstmann (“a groom”), Icelandic hestamaður (“horseman, groom”).

## Common misspellings (13)
`ehnchman`, `hecnhman`, `hencchman`, `henchamn`, `henchhman`, `henchmann`, `henchmman`, `henchmna`, `hencmhan`, `henhcman`, `hennchman`, `hhenchman`, `hnechman`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/henchman