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Glite Dictionary
companionway

companionway

1 9.1
A stair or ladder on a ship that people use to go between decks
  • noun
  • /kəmˈpænjənˌweɪ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : escalera de acceso
  • The companionway leads directly from the deck to the spacious cabin below.
  • companionway door
  • companionway steps
  • companionway hatch

Examples

  • I went back to my post near the companionway.

    Blog text (29)

  • This companionway should get us to the bridge.

    Ghost Ship (2002)

  • Thinking the show was finally over, I started back down the companionway steps.

    Blog text (29)

  • Push hard, up the ladder left in the companionway.

    Executive Decision (1996)

  • But once, when I came on deck through the companionway, from darkness into brilliant light, I saw him in profile twenty feet off.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • All those going ashore, report to the companionway.

    King Kong (1976)

  • Suddenly, Freycinet appeared in the companionway.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • She ran out the door and up the companionway to find Frederick.

    Blog text (18)

  • He led the way aft, then up a narrow companionway.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Climbing up the companionway, Eliot saw in the west the vaporous glow of the end of the storm working toward him.

    Fiction book (2000)

Synonyms

hatchway
vscompanionway
  • Specialized
4 7.0

An opening in a floor or ship deck that lets people go between levels

forms the actual stair or ladder rather than just the opening
ladderway
vscompanionway
  • Specialized
8.2

A vertical passage with a ladder for moving between levels in ships or buildings

allows either stairs or a ladder rather than ladder access only

Surface Forms

companionway singular
companionways plural

Morphology

companionway = companion + way (semi-transparent) = companion + way

The components 'companion' and 'way' are identifiable, but the specialized nautical meaning 'stairway on a ship' is not directly inferable from the parts for an average learner.

Etymology

Companionway combines companion, a word that originally meant someone you 'share bread' with, and way, which means 'path' or 'road', giving the image of people moving together. On a ship, a companionway is the 'path' — a stair or ladder — that lets people go between decks, so the name fits.