4. [Cf. OSp. compa˝a 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.
Com*pan"ion, v. t. 1. To be a companion to; to attend on; to accompany. [R.] Ruskin.