Accompanying someone to provide protection, guidance, or as a courtesy; conducting someone from one place to another.
From Old French 'escorter,' possibly from Italian 'scortare' or Spanish 'escorta.' The root might relate to 'scort' meaning 'a troop or group,' suggesting the idea of protective accompaniment.
In medieval times, 'escorting' was a crucial service—protecting travelers on dangerous roads was a job, and that's why many cities had official escorts. Now it's mostly about politeness!
The term became gendered through association with sex work due to feminist and vice enforcement discourse of the 20th century, though escorting historically described all accompaniment roles.
Use 'escort' neutrally for accompaniment, or specify the role (guide, security, companion) to avoid conflation with sex work.
["accompanying","guiding","providing security for"]
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