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Origin and history of entourage

entourage(n.)

1832, "surroundings, environment," picked up by De Quincey from French entourage, from entourer "to surround" (16c.), from Old French entour "that which surrounds" (10c.), from en- "in" (see en- (1)) + tour "a circuit" (see tour). Specific sense of "attendant persons, persons among whom as followers or companions one is accustomed to move" recorded in English by 1860.

also from 1832

Entries linking to entourage

tour(n.)

c. 1300, "a turn of events; one's shift on duty," from Old French tor, tour, tourn, tourn "a turn, trick, round, circuit, circumference," from torner, tourner "to turn" (see turn (v.)).

The sense of "a going round (a place, or from place to place), a continued ramble or excursion" is from 1640s. Compare tourism. The literal sense of "a turning round, circular movement" is rare in English and obsolete.

For Grand Tour, see grand (adj.). Tour de France as a bicycle race is attested in English by 1916 (Tour de France Cycliste, distinguished from a motorcar race of the same name). A tour d'horizon (1952 in English) is a broad, general survey. A little tour or excursion is a tourette (1881).

en-(1)

word-forming element meaning "in; into," from French and Old French en-, from Latin in- "in, into" (from PIE root *en "in"). Typically assimilated before -p-, -b-, -m-, -l-, and -r-. Latin in- became en- in French, Spanish, Portuguese, but remained in- in Italian.

Also used with native and imported elements to form verbs from nouns and adjectives, with a sense "put in or on" (encircle), also "cause to be, make into" (endear), and used as an intensive (enclose). Spelling variants in French that were brought over into Middle English account for parallels such as ensure/insure, and most en- words in English had at one time or another a variant in in-, and vice versa.

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    suite
    1670s, "train of followers, company of attendants," from French suite, from Old French suite, sieute "act of following, attendance" (see suit (n.), which is an earlier borrowing of the same French word). The meanings "set of instrumental compositions" (1680s), "connected set of r
    reunite
    c. 1500, reuniten, "join after separation, unite or bring together again" (transitive), from Medieval Latin reunitus, past participle of reunire "unite again," from re- "again" (here perhaps "repetition of an action;" see re-) + Late Latin unire "join together, make into one" (se
    court
    late 12c., "formal assembly held by a sovereign," from Old French cort "king's court; princely residence" (11c., Modern French cour), from Latin cortem, accusative of cors (earlier cohors) "enclosed yard," and by extension (and perhaps by association with curia "sovereign's assem
    sin
    Middle English sinne, from Old English synn, syn "violation of divine law, offense against God; moral wrongdoing," also "injury, mischief; enmity, feud; guilt, crime, misdeed," from Proto-Germanic *sundiō "sin" (source also of Old Saxon sundia, Old Frisian sende, Middle Dutch son
    toast
    "to brown with heat," late 14c., from Old French toster "to toast, to grill, roast, burn" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *tostare (source of Italian tostare, Spanish tostar), frequentative of Latin torrere (past participle tostus) "to parch," from PIE root *ters- "to dry." Related: To
    comprise
    early 15c., "to include," from Old French compris, past participle of comprendre "to contain, comprise" (12c.), from Latin comprehendere "to take together, to unite; include; seize; to comprehend, perceive" (to seize or take in the mind), from com "with, together," here probably
    orphan
    "a child bereaved of one or both parents, generally the latter," c. 1300, from Late Latin orphanus "parentless child" (source of Old French orfeno, orphenin, Italian orfano), from Greek orphanos "orphaned, without parents, fatherless," literally "deprived," from orphos "bereft."
    gossamer
    c. 1300, "filmy substance (actually spider threads) found in fields of stubble in late fall," apparently from gos "goose" (see goose (n.)) + sumer "summer" (see summer (n.)). Blount (1656) has it as gossymeare or gossomor "the white and cobweb-like exhalations, which fly abroad i
    awkward
    mid-14c. (adv.), "in the wrong direction," from awk "back-handed" + adverbial suffix -weard (see -ward). The original sense is obsolete. As an adjective, "turned the wrong way," 1510s. The meaning "clumsy, wanting ease and grace in movement" is recorded by 1520s. Of persons, "emb
    theme
    early 14c., "subject or topic on which a person writes or speaks," from Old French tesme (13c., with silent -s- "indicating vowel length" [OED], Modern French thème) and directly from Latin thema "a subject, thesis," from Greek thema "a proposition, subject, deposit," literally "

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