4. [Cf. OSp. compaña an outhouse, office.] (Naut.) (a) A skylight on an upper deck with frames and
sashes of various shapes, to admit light to a cabin or lower deck. (b) A wooden hood or penthouse
covering the companion way; a companion hatch.
Companion hatch (Naut.),
a wooden porch over the entrance or staircase of the cabin. — Companion
ladder (Naut.), the ladder by which officers ascend to, or descend from, the quarter- deck. Totten.
— Companion way (Naut.), a staircase leading to the cabin. — Knights companions, in certain
honorary orders, the members of the lowest grades as distinguished from knights commanders, knights
grand cross, and the like.
Syn. — Associate; comrade; mate; compeer; partner; ally; confederate; coadjutor; accomplice.
Companion
(Com*pan"ion), v. t.
1. To be a companion to; to attend on; to accompany. [R.] Ruskin.
2. To qualify as a companion; to make equal. [Obs.]
Companion me with my mistress.
Shak.