benchfellow C2+ Topic:Register & Style US /ˈbɛntʃˌfɛloʊ/ UK /ˈbɛntʃfɛləʊ/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun one who shares a bench; a companion or colleague (archaic) His old benchfellow from school now sat opposite him in court. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · one who shares a bench; a... companioncolleaguecomradeassociatefellow Word family Related forms benchfellow Etymology AI details From bench + fellow; bench from Old English benc ('bench') and fellow from Old Norse félagi ('partner'). benc Old English félagi Old Norse View etymology graph -> Topics Register & Style General Vocabulary External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # benchfellow **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈbɛntʃˌfɛloʊ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈbɛntʃfɛləʊ/ ## Meanings 1. one who shares a bench; a companion or colleague (archaic) ## Examples - His old benchfellow from school now sat opposite him in court. ## Synonyms - companion - colleague - comrade - associate - fellow ## Related Forms - bench - fellow ## Roots and Affixes - Root: benc - Root: félagi ## Etymology From bench + fellow; bench from Old English benc ('bench') and fellow from Old Norse félagi ('partner'). ## AI Etymology Benchfellow comes from bench + fellow; bench from Old English benc ('bench') and fellow from Old Norse félagi ('partner'). The historical trail runs through benc in Old English and félagi in Old Norse. Morphologically, benchfellow is transparent: it draws on bench + fellow. Used as a noun, benchfellow now means "one who shares a bench; a companion or colleague (archaic)", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as bench and fellow. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English. ## Topics - Register & Style - General Vocabulary markdown