henchman

henchman
\ \ [14] Early spellings such as hengestman and henxstman suggest that this word is a compound of Old English hengest ‘stallion’ and man ‘man’. There are chronological difficulties, for hengest seems to have gone out of general use in the 13th century, and henchman is not recorded until the mid-14th century, but it seems highly likely nevertheless that the compound must originally have meant ‘horse servant, groom’. The word hengest would no doubt have remained alive in popular consciousness as the name of the Jutish chieftain Hengist who conquered Kent in the 5th century with his brother Horsa; it is related to modern German hengst ‘stallion’, and goes back ultimately to a prehistoric Indo-European kənku-, which denoted ‘jump’. Henchman remained in use for ‘squire’ or ‘page’ until the 17th century, but then seems to have drifted out of use, and it was Sir Walter Scott who revived it in the early 19th century, in the sense ‘trusty right-hand man’.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Henchman — Hench man (h[e^]nch man), n.; pl. { men} ( men). [OE. hencheman, henxman; prob. fr. OE. & AS. hengest horse + E. man, and meaning, a groom. AS. hengest is akin to D. & G. hengst stallion, OHG. hengist horse, gelding.] An attendant; a servant; a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • henchman — index abettor, coactor, coadjutant Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • henchman — mid 14c., hengestman, later henshman (mid 15c.) high ranking servant (usually of gentle birth), attendant upon a king, nobleman, etc., originally groom, probably from man + O.E. hengest horse, stallion, gelding, from P.Gmc. *hangistas (Cf. O.Fris …   Etymology dictionary

  • henchman — *follower, adherent, disciple, partisan, satellite, sectary …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • henchman — [n] follower abettor, accessory, accomplice, adherent, adjunct, aide, ally, appointee, apprentice, assistant, attendant, backer, backup*, bodyguard, coadjutant, coadjutor, cohort, collaborator, colleague, companion, deputy, fellow worker, flunky …   New thesaurus

  • henchman — ► NOUN 1) chiefly derogatory a faithful supporter or aide, especially one prepared to engage in underhand practices. 2) historical a squire or page attending a prince or noble. ORIGIN from Old English hengest «male horse» + MAN(Cf. ↑man), the… …   English terms dictionary

  • henchman — [hench′mən] n. pl. henchmen [hench′mən] [ME henxtman, hencheman < OE hengest, stallion (see HENGIST) + man: orig. sense prob. “horse attendant”] 1. Obs. a male attendant; page or squire 2. a trusted helper or follower ☆ 3. a political… …   English World dictionary

  • Henchman — The word henchman (Germanic irregular plural: hench men ) referred originally to one who attended on a horse, that is, a horse groom. Hence, like constable and marshal, also originally stable staff, henchman became the title of a (subordinate)… …   Wikipedia

  • henchman — [14] Early spellings such as hengestman and henxstman suggest that this word is a compound of Old English hengest ‘stallion’ and man ‘man’. There are chronological difficulties, for hengest seems to have gone out of general use in the 13th… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • henchman — UK [ˈhentʃmən] / US noun [countable] Word forms henchman : singular henchman plural henchmen UK [ˈhentʃmən] / US a supporter of a powerful person, especially one who is willing to behave in an immoral or violent way …   English dictionary

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