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ac·com·pa·ny (ə-kŭmpə-nē, ə-kŭmpnē)
Share:
v. ac·com·pa·nied, ac·com·pa·ny·ing, ac·com·pa·nies
v.tr.
1. To be or go with, especially as a companion.
2. To provide with an addition; supplement: a dish that is best accompanied with a robust wine.
3. To exist or occur at the same time as: dark clouds that were accompanied by rain.
4. Music To perform an accompaniment to.
v.intr.
Music To play an accompaniment.

[Middle English accompanien, from Old French acompagnier : a-, to (from Latin ad-; see AD-) + compaignon, companion; see COMPANION1.]

Synonyms: accompany, conduct, escort, chaperone
These verbs mean to be with or to go with another or others. Accompany suggests going with another on an equal basis: "One day [my wife] accompanied me, upon some household errand, into the cellar of the old building which our poverty compelled us to inhabit" (Edgar Allan Poe).
Conduct implies guidance of others: "A servant conducted me to my bedroom" (Charlotte Brontë).
Escort stresses protective guidance or official action: "At every county town a long cavalcade of the principal gentlemen ... escorted the mayor to the market cross" (Thomas Macaulay).
Chaperone specifies adult supervision of young persons: My mother helped chaperone the prom.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.