— companyless , adj.
/kum"peuh nee/ , n. , pl. companies , v. , companied, companying .
n.
1. a number of individuals assembled or associated together; group of people.
2. a guest or guests: We're having company for dinner.
3. an assemblage of persons for social purposes.
4. companionship; fellowship; association: I always enjoy her company.
5. one's usual companions: I don't like the company he keeps.
6. society collectively.
7. a number of persons united or incorporated for joint action, esp. for business: a publishing company; a dance company.
8. ( cap. ) the members of a firm not specifically named in the firm's title: George Higgins and Company.
9. Mil.
a. the smallest body of troops, consisting of a headquarters and two or three platoons.
b. any relatively small group of soldiers.
c. Army. a basic unit with both tactical and administrative functions.
10. a unit of firefighters, including their special apparatus: a hook-and-ladder company.
11. Also called ship's company . a ship's crew, including the officers.
12. a medieval trade guild.
13. the Company , Informal. a nation's major intelligence-gathering and espionage organization, as the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
14. keep company ,
a. to associate with; be a friend of.
b. Informal. to go together, as in courtship: My sister has been keeping company with a young lawyer.
15. part company ,
a. to cease association or friendship with: We parted company 20 years ago after the argument.
b. to take a different or opposite view; differ: He parted company with his father on politics.
c. to separate: We parted company at the airport.
v.i.
16. Archaic. to associate.
v.t.
17. Archaic. to accompany.
[ 1200-50; ME compaignie companionship, equiv. to compain ( companio; see COMPANION 1 ) + -ie -Y 3 ]
Syn. 1. group, assemblage, body. COMPANY, BAND, PARTY, TROOP refer to a group of people formally or informally associated. COMPANY is the general word and means any group of people: a company of motorists. BAND, used esp. of a band of musicians, suggests a relatively small group pursuing the same purpose or sharing a common fate: a concert by a band; a band of survivors. PARTY, except when used of a political group, usually implies an indefinite and temporary assemblage, as for some common pursuit: a spelunking party. TROOP, used specifically of a body of cavalry, usually implies a number of individuals organized as a unit: a troop of cavalry. 3. gathering, crowd. 6. firm, house, corporation.