this post was submitted on 07 Apr 2026
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so, "pathfinder"?
More like companion.
If the "pa" part of "companion" comes from path it's basically exactly the same: "s" and "co" are both "with" and "nik" and "ion" are similar noun endings.
It doesn't though, it comes from French compagnon/compaignon and then Latin com (with) + panis (bread). It probably originally meant "someone with whom you share bread (eat together)".
And actually, looking at wiktionary, Old English had a word "ġefēra" (with the same meaning) which is constructed very similarly to "спутник": ge ('with', still the same prefix in german e.g. Gebrüder) + fera ('to go'/'to fare', e.g. in seafaring)