Paranymph

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( n.) A friend of the bridegroom who went with him in his chariot to fetch home the bride.

(2): ( n.) The bridesmaid who conducted the bride to the bridegroom.

(3): ( n.) An ally; a supporter or abettor.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(παρανύμφιος ), a term used in ancient Greece to denote one of the friends or relations of a bridegroom who attended him on the occasion of his marriage. Among the Jews there were two paranymphs, one a relative of the bridegroom and the other of the bride; the first was called his companion, and the other her conductor. Their business was to attend upon the parties at the marriage ceremony. (See Wedding).