escort
UK[ˈeskɔːt]US[ˈeskɔːrt]
n
A person or group of people or vehicles that travels with someone or something to protect or guard them.
n
A person, especially a man, who accompanies another person to a social event.
v
To go with someone or something to protect or guard them.
v
To accompany someone to a social event.
Etymology
The word 'escort' entered English in the late 16th century from the French verb 'escorter', meaning 'to conduct, to guide'. The French term was itself borrowed from the Italian 'scorta', a noun derived from the verb 'scorgere', meaning 'to perceive, to guide'. This Italian verb finds its ultimate origin in the Latin verb 'excorrigere', a compound of 'ex-' (out) and 'corrigere' (to make straight, to correct). The semantic journey is clear: from the literal Latin sense of 'setting straight' or 'guiding out', the meaning evolved through Italian and French to signify the act of accompanying and protecting someone on a journey, which is the core of its modern English usage.
Analysis
The word 'escort' is a simplex loanword from Italian and French. It is not productively formed from separable morphemes in modern English.
Examples
The president's motorcade was surrounded by a heavy police escort.
She arrived at the gala with a handsome escort.
Security personnel will escort the valuable shipment to the airport.