Accompany

How to spell accompany

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce accompany

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does accompany mean?

1. verbTo go somewhere with someone, or to provide something alongside something else.

Accompany in a sentence

• A senior nurse will accompany the patient to the operating room.

• The report should accompany the invoice when you submit the claim.

Where does accompany come from?

Language of origin: French

This word comes from the Old French accompaignier, meaning 'to associate with' or 'to go along with', which was built from the prefix a- (from Latin ad, 'to') and compaignon, the source of our 'companion'. That companion was literally 'one who breaks bread with you', from the Latin com (with) and panis (bread), so the deep image is of sharing a meal and a journey. English took the word in during the late 1400s, first in the sense of keeping company with someone and later extending to the musical sense of playing a supporting part alongside a singer. The 'bread' root, panis, also survives in 'pantry' and in the Spanish word pan. The spelling trap is entirely at the front: the doubled c of ac- plus com- collides into 'acc', while the m and n that follow stay single, which is why so many adults overdo or underdo the doubling.

How the word is built

• ac- (to)
• com- (with)
• pan (from Latin panis: bread, via companion)
• -y (verb ending)