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In the title of book The Cambridge Companion to Philosophical Methodology, does "companion" mean this books is a complement to another book?

Bing's dictionary says:

Companion

  1. ...

  2. one of a pair of things intended to complement or match each other: "a companion volume" synonyms: complement · counterpart · fellow · mate · twin · other half · match · accompaniment · supplement · addition · adjunct · appendage · accessory · auxiliary

  • a book that provides information about a particular subject: "the Oxford Companion to English Literature" synonyms: handbook · manual · guide · reference book · ABC · primer · vade mecum · enchiridion · instruction book

According to Bing, does "companion" here mean a standalone book, which is "a book that provides information about a particular subject"?

Does "companion" imply at which level the book is presented? Advanced, intermediate, or introductory?

How can one tell whether "companion" in a book's title means it accompanies another book or it is a standalone book?

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    The point of the word companion in a title is to tell beginners they have a friend in this book.
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented Aug 17, 2023 at 13:24
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    @YosefBaskin Hold your horses, Yosef! I have The Cambridge Companion to Richard Strauss and The Richard Strauss Companion and I wouldn't recommend either to beginners :)
    – DjinTonic
    Commented Aug 17, 2023 at 15:08
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    Just like 'guide', it's a transferred usage, really personification ('companion' or 'guide' being prototypically a person who helps/supports one along the way).
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Aug 17, 2023 at 15:30
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    It is not clear why this question was closed as 'off-topic'. It seems to be a perfectly sensible question about the use of a word that is only loosely related to its core meaning and is arguably problematic. The word, when used this way, may well be a marketing device with no precise meaning, but that should be a part of the answer, rather than a reason for closing the question.
    – jsw29
    Commented Aug 17, 2023 at 16:27
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    Thank you for this question, which sent me back to the 'Oxford Companion to the English Language', which deserves to be cited in this site more often. It tells us that 'Companion', from 13th century French, is "A work of reference, usually arranged alphabetically, that is there to be consulted whenever needed." It explains rather than defines, and is a bit like a sensible, well-informed friend. So not so far from its then French meaning if a messmate (from 'com-' for 'with' and 'panis' for bread), so my OCEL friend tells me. That is exactly what it is to me.
    – Tuffy
    Commented Aug 18, 2023 at 21:42

5 Answers 5

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A companion is a work intended to keep you oriented in a subject area that is new to you, especially when you encounter something about which you know little or nothing. It will cover many sub-topics succinctly so you can make progress while reading other works, and not just skip over references that make no sense to you.

Compare:

The Companion is aimed at students encountering Old English literature for the first time, who require clear guidance and orientation in an unfamiliar field.

The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature

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The third.

OED:

Companion

II.10.a.

A handbook or reference book on a specific subject; a manual, a guide. Frequently as part of the title of such a work. Cf. vade-mecum n. 1.

1621 A Relation of some speciall points concerning the State of Holland, or the Provident Counsellours Companion. (title)

1903 At the beginning of the Canadian ‘Parliamentary Companion’ a whole page is headed in large capitals, ‘Whippers-in’. Westminster Gazette 9 October 12/1

2001 This softback book is a must have companion for any serious visitor. Art Room Catalogue Spring Preview 40/1

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If the title says Companion to + field/subject (such as Philosophical Methodology in your case), then it's a guide. Or as M-W puts it,

a book, manual, etc., that provides information or advice about a particular subject

  • a companion to French New Wave cinema.

In order for Companion to mean one of a pair, than Companion to should be followed by the title of another book or show. See this example from M-W:

one that is closely connected with something similar

  • The book is a companion to the television series with the same title.
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Other answers have already explained what companion to X means when used in book titles: it conveys the idea that the book is a manual, handbook, guide to X, which one will find it helpful to consult frequently while dealing with X (and will thus want to always have at hand while doing so). The implication is that the book is something that one will probably consult more often than other books about X, which discuss it in a more specialised way. The X in question can be either another book or some subject area.

That is indeed what the term is supposed to stand for. Recently, however, publishers have started using companion to X in the titles of books whose contents, upon scrutiny, turn out not to be any more helpful than the contents of numerous other books about X, and that one will not be likely to consult any more frequently than these other books. A companion to X is thus often just another book about X. The word companion is in these titles only because the publisher's marketing department wants you to think that the book is something that you will always want to have at hand while dealing with X, which makes it more likely that you will buy it.

The word handbook is sometimes used by publishers for the same purpose. Another part of the same marketing ploy is to combine companion or handbook in the title with the name of a venerable university, so as to create the impression that the authority of that entire university somehow stands behind the publication (while the truth is only that it is published by a publishing company that is loosely affiliated with the university).

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I think the following definition is clear:

A companion book is a book that accompanies and elaborates on another already published book. The goal of a companion book is to provide the reader with a deeper understanding of concepts, themes, characters, places, and ideas in the original work.

(wappingersschools)

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    But this definitely does not apply to titles such as "The Oxford Companion to XXX".
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Aug 17, 2023 at 12:47
  • Answer to the title, +1.
    – Mazura
    Commented Aug 19, 2023 at 19:47

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