Hench"man (?), n.; pl. -men (#). [OE. hencheman, henxman; prob. fr. OE. & AS. hengest horse + E. man, and meaning, a groom. AS. hengest is akin to D. & G. hengst stallion, OHG. hengist horse, gelding.]
An attendant; a servant; a follower. Now chiefly used as a political cant term.
© Webster 1913.