henchman
- 01 C1 Advanced
a loyal supporter of a powerful leader, often working for their own selfish reasons.
a loyal follower or subordinate who supports a political figure, often motivated by personal gain rather than principle.
Simple“The governor was always surrounded by his political henchmen during the campaign.”
In context“Critics argued that the senator's inner circle was composed entirely of henchmen who prioritised party loyalty over the public interest.”
- 02 C2 Proficiency
in the past, a young man who served a prince or person of high rank.
a page or squire to a prince or other person of high rank; the original, non-pejorative sense of the term.
Simple“The young henchman stood behind the king during the royal feast.”
In context“In medieval courtly records, the term henchman referred to a high-ranking page who attended to the monarch's personal needs.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is archaic; modern learners will almost exclusively encounter the word in the context of crime or villainy.
From Middle English henxman (“page, attendant”), from Old English hengstmann, hengestmann (“groom”, literally “horseman”), from hengst, hengest (“stallion, horse, steed, gelding”) (from Proto-Germanic hangistaz (“stallion”), from Proto-Indo-European ḱanḱest-, *kankest- (“horse”)) + mann (“man”). Cognate with archaic German Hengstmann (“a groom”), Icelandic hestamaður (“horseman, groom”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.