Dictionary Definition
companionway n : a stairway or ladder that leads
from one deck to another on a ship
User Contributed Dictionary
Extensive Definition
In the architecture of a ship, a companion or companionway
is a raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck, with a
ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main
cabins. This meaning of "companion" is derived from French
and Italian
terms meaning "the chamber of the company," originally the name of
the storeroom for provisions on board ship. The term later
broadened to its current meaning.