Hetair-

Hetair- or latinicized Hetaer- is a Greek linguistic root bearing the meaning of companion (cf. Latin Socii and societas). It is used in the following terms:

Ancient Greece

 * Hetairoi (sing. Hetairos), the name of the Macedonian aristocracy and later Companion cavalry
 * Hetaira (plural Hetairai), female sophisticated companions, courtesans
 * Hetairideia, a festival of Magnesians and Macedonians
 * Hetairiai or Ancient Greek clubs, associations of ancient Greeks who were united by a common interest or goal
 * Hetairia or Andreia, the Cretan terms for Doric Syssitia (common meals)
 * Hetaireios, an epithet of Zeus

Modern Greece

 * Filiki Eteria, a secret 19th century organization whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece and to establish an independent Greek state
 * The Greek term for company, found in many business names such as Jumbo Anonymi Etairia

Entomology

 * Hetaeria, or hairy jewel orchids, a genus in the family Orchidaceae
 * Hetaerina: a genus of damselfly
 * Hetaira (katydid): a genus of bush crickets

Other uses

 * Hetaireia, a Byzantine imperial guard
 * Hetaerism, a theoretical early state of human society that practiced a polyamorous and communistic lifestyle; see Matriarchal religion