- retinue
- late 14c., from O.Fr. retenue "group of followers, state of service," lit. "that which is retained," from fem. pp. of retenir "to employ, to retain, hold back" (see retain).
- bodyguard
- 1735, "retinue, escort," collective sing., from body + guard. Attested 1861 as "a soldier of the bodyguard."
- bouche
- Fr., lit. "mouth" (O.Fr. boche, 11c.), from L. bucca, lit. "cheek," which in L.L. replaced os (see oral) as the word for "mouth" (cf. It. bocca, Sp. boca). Borrowed in English in various senses, e.g. "king's allowance of food for his retinue" (mid-15c.); "mouth" (1580s); "metal plug for a cannon's vent" (1862; verb in this sense from 1781).
- cortege
- 1640s, "train of attendants," from Fr. cortège (16c.), from It. corteggio "retinue," from corte "court," from L. cohortem (see court).
- set (n.)
- "collection of things," mid-15c., from O.Fr. sette "sequence," variant of secte, from M.L. secta "retinue," from L. secta "a following" (see sect). The word had been earlier used in English in the sense of "religious sect" (late 14c.), which likely is the direct source of some meanings, e.g. "group of persons with shared status, habits, etc." (1680s). Sense of "burrow of a badger" is attested from 1898. That of "scenery for an individual scene in a play, etc." is recorded from 1859. Meaning "group of pieces musicians perform at a club during 45 minutes (more or less) is from c.1925, though it is found in a similar sense in 1580s.
- cohort
- early 15c., "company of soldiers," from M.Fr. cohorte (14c.) and directly from L. cohortem (nom. cohors) "enclosure," meaning extended to "infantry company" in Roman army (a tenth part of a legion) through notion of "enclosed group, retinue," from com- "with" (see co-) + root akin to hortus "garden," from PIE *ghr-ti-, from base *gher- "to grasp, enclose" (see yard (1)). Sense of "accomplice" is first recorded 1952, Amer.Eng., from meaning "group united in common cause" (1719).
- embassy
- 1570s, "position of an ambassador," from M.Fr. embassee "mission, charge, office of ambassador," O.Fr. ambassee, from It. ambasciata, from O.Prov. ambaisada "office of ambassador," from Gaul. *ambactos "dependant, vassal," lit. "one going around," from PIE *amb(i)-ag-to, from *ambi- (see ambi-) + *ambi- "around" (see ambi-) + *ag- "to drive, move" (see act). Meaning "official residence and retinue of an ambassador" is from 1764. In earlier use were embassade (late 15c.), ambassade (early 15c.).
- train (n.)
- early 14c., "a drawing out, delay," later "trailing part of a skirt" (mid-15c.), also "retinue, procession" (mid-15c.), from O.Fr. train (fem. traine), from trainer "to pull, draw," from V.L. *traginare, extended from *tragere "to pull," back formation from tractus, pp. of L. trahere "to pull, draw" (see tract (1)). Train of thought first attested 1650s. The railroad sense is recorded from 1820 (publication year, dated 1816), from notion of a "train" of wagons or carriages pulled by a mechanical engine. British train-spotting "hobby of observing trains and recording locomotive numbers" is recorded from 1958.