cohort

Usage Note: The English word cohort comes from the Latin word cohors, which meant "an enclosed area" or "a pen or courtyard enclosing a group of cattle or poultry." By extension, the word could refer to any group in general and in particular to a company of soldiers or a troop of cavalry in the army of ancient Rome. The group of men forming the bodyguard of a Roman general or the retinue of a provincial governor was also called a cohors. Because of this history, some people insist that the English word cohort should be used to refer only to a group of people and never to an individual person. But the use of cohort in reference to individuals has become so common, especially in the plural, as to overshadow the use in the singular to refer to a group. Both in our 1988 and 1999 surveys, 71 percent of the Usage Panel accepted the sentence The cashiered dictator and his cohorts have all written their memoirs. These results stand in stark contrast to those of our 1965 survey, in which 69 percent rejected the usage. Moreover, the Panel is divided regarding the traditional usage referring to a group. In 1988, 43 percent accepted The gangster walked into the room surrounded by his cohort, and in 1999, 56 percent accepted Like many in her cohort, she was never interested in kids when she was young.