henchman

English

/ˈhɛntʃ.mən/

noun
Definitions
  • A loyal and trusted follower or subordinate.
  • A person who supports a political figure chiefly out of selfish interests.
  • An assistant member of a criminal gang.
  • (obsolete) A page to a prince or other person of high rank.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English hencheman inherited from Old English *hengstmann derived from Proto-Germanic *hangistaz (stallion) derived from Proto-Indo-European *ḱanḱest-.

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*ḱanḱest-

Gloss

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms