plus one

Etymology
2004, from guest lists reading “John Doe + 1” meaning “John Doe plus one (unspecified) guest”. Later generalized to invitations, particularly as an alternative to explicitly inviting both members of a couple: the invitee is welcome to bring a guest, be it a spouse, companion, date, friend, etc.

Noun

 * 1) A friend or date whom one brings along to an event; a guest of a guest.

Usage notes
There is no commonly accepted term for a person who brings a plus one. Generally a phrase is used instead, as in “if you are bringing a plus one”, or “the person whom you are accompanying”; people who are directly invited (not plus ones) can be referred to as. Proposed terms and their problems include (suggests the ultimate host),  (sexual connotations), / (suggests older supervisor), and guest-bringer (technical, awkward). More humorous terms include and /.

Translations

 * Finnish:
 * French:
 * Galician: acompañante
 * German: mit Begleitung, und Begleitung,
 * Polish: osoba towarzysząca
 * Romanian:
 * Russian: