acolyte

acolyte, henchman

noun ah-koh-LEET Rare

Usage Note

Acolyte originally referred to a minor server assisting a priest at Mass, a sense still used in Catholic contexts. In modern French it has shifted to mean a follower or sidekick, often with a slightly negative tone implying blind loyalty or complicity. The word is invariable for gender — un acolyte, une acolyte — though masculine forms dominate in practice.

Examples

"Le chef et ses acolytes sont partis ensemble."

Natural Translation

The boss and his henchmen left together.

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