The French know how to party, or possibly how to enslave people. If you ever wanted solid evidence look at the following words, all from French or Old French:
- escort
- entourage
- attendants
- retinue
- cortege
A coterie is a “group of people who associates with one frequently”, and is my favorite, although “cortege” nearly meets it for Most Pompous Word Ever. All these words have something in common, in that if you have any of these things, you’re probably a badass. In fact, I’ve ordered the list above from least to most-badass. If you show up to a party with an escort, that’s cool. If you show up with an entourage, that’s cooler, but only badass aristocrats and kings show up with attendants, retinues, corteges, and coteries.
On a side note, did you know there’s an adjectival form of retinue? “Retinued”, describing a person with a body of attendants. I wish I didn’t know that, because now I realize that I am not adequately retinued.
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