COMPANY, a collective term, understood of several persons assembled together in the same place, or with the same design. The word is formed of the French compagnie, and that of companion, or companies, which Chifflet observes, are found in the Salic law, tit. 66. and are proper military words, understood of soldiers, who, according to the modern phrase, are comrades or mess-mates, i. e. lodge together, eat together, &c. of the Latin, cum, "with," and panis, "bread." It may be added, that in some Greek authors under the western empire, the word κωμηνία occurs in the sense of society.