accompanied

Accompanied is the past participle and past tense of accompany, meaning to go somewhere with someone else as a companion or to occur together with something. It can describe a person who is with another person for companionship or safety, as in “She was accompanied by her friend,” or indicate that two or more events or features occur at the same time, as in “The ceremony was accompanied by singing.”

Etymology traces accompany to Old French acompaigner, from à and compagnie, related to the idea of sharing company. In modern English, accompanied can function as a verb form or as an adjective when paired with the phrase “accompanied by.”

Usage tends to fall into several broad categories. In travel and safety contexts, it often appears in phrases like “an accompanied minor” (a child who must travel with a designated adult) or “accompanied travel,” where a guardian or escort is present. In music, literature, and performance, it describes an element that accompanies another, such as “the song was accompanied by guitar” or “a speech accompanied by a slideshow.” In legal or formal writing, it helps specify accompanying persons or items, for example, “required to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.”

Examples illustrate common contrasts: “The child traveled with an adult” versus “the child traveled unaccompanied.” The term emphasizes presence and association, rather than independence, in both social and procedural contexts.