HENCHMAN, one who attended on a horse, a groom, and hence, like groom (q.v.), a title of a subordinate official in royal or noble households. The first part of the word is the O.E. hengest, a horse. The word appears in the name, Hengest, of the Saxon chieftain (see HENGEST AND HORSA). Henchmen, pages of honour or squires, rode or walked at the side of their master in processions, and appear in the English royal household from the 14th century till Elizabeth abolished the royal henchmen, known also as the "children of honour."