Meinie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for a lord's retinue, the group of attendants, servants and followers who travel with or serve a noble
2. Older word for a household or band of armed followers attached to a powerful person, such as a knight or king
3. A dated name for the body of servants and companions who accompany and serve a person of high rank

Etymology: The word "meinie" once named something close to a whole household: the family, servants, and retainers who lived under a lord's roof. Its first element comes from Latin "mansio," meaning "house" or "dwelling," the same root that gives English "mansion." Latin "mansio" passed into popular speech as a Vulgar Latin form, "mansionata," and from there into Old French as "mesnie," a word for a household or a group of people living together under one head. English borrowed the word in its Middle English forms "meine" and "meyne," coming through Anglo-Norman "maigne." Over time the household sense narrowed. A noble's "meinie" came to mean specifically the attendants and armed followers who served him, rather than the whole family. The English word "menial" is a close relative, and its history is shaped by the same root. A "menial" was originally a servant who lived in the household, and the word's shift toward "lowly" or "servile" work is a related development from the same sense of belonging to a house.