1.
retainer, servant, vassal, follower
A person who serves a lord or master, especially in a feudal context. Also used loosely to describe someone who follows another person obediently.
殿様の家来になる。
To become a lord's retainer.
桃太郎は犬と猿と雉を家来にした。
Momotaro made the dog, monkey, and pheasant his retainers.
忠義な家来たちは主君のために命を懸けて戦った。
The loyal retainers fought with their lives on the line for their lord.
USAGE:
家来 is primarily a historical term describing feudal servants, but it also appears in folk tales, fiction, and casual speech. In everyday language, calling someone a 家来 implies they follow another person around like a servant (often said jokingly or critically).
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 家臣: retainer, vassal (more formal, used in historical writing)
- 部下: subordinate (modern, workplace context)
- 召使い: servant (domestic servant)
CULTURAL CONTEXT:
The word is well known from the folk tale 桃太郎 (Momotaro), where the hero recruits animal companions as 家来 by offering them 黍団子 (millet dumplings).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 家来にする: to make someone one's retainer
- 家来を従える: to have retainers in one's service
- 忠実な家来: a loyal retainer