Accompanying

How to spell accompanying

12 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce accompanying

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does accompanying mean?

1. adjectiveGoing along with or provided together with something else as a supplement or companion.
2. verbCurrently going somewhere with someone, or playing a musical part in support of a soloist.

Accompanying in a sentence

• adjective

  The report and its accompanying charts were emailed to the board.

• verb

  She is accompanying her elderly father to every hospital appointment.

• adjective

  Each meal arrived with an accompanying glass of wine.

• verb

  The pianist was accompanying the singer throughout the recital.

Where does accompanying come from?

Language of origin: French

This word traces back to the Old French verb 'acompaignier', meaning to associate with or keep company with someone, which English adopted in the 1400s. At its heart lies the noun 'compaignon', a companion, and that word came from the Late Latin 'companio', which literally meant 'one who eats bread with another', formed from 'com' (together with) and 'panis' (bread). So at root, to accompany someone is to share your loaf with them, a warm and very concrete image. The same 'panis' for bread survives in 'pantry' and in the Spanish and Italian words for bread, while 'com' gives us the cluster of double letters at the start. The spelling trap is exactly there: the doubled 'c' of ac- meeting com-, followed by a single 'm' and a single 'p', which is the reverse of what many writers expect.

How the word is built

• ac- (to)
• com- (together with)
• pan (from panis: bread)
• -y (verb ending)
• -ing (present participle)