Companion planting vs Guilds?

I was wondering if someone could explain the difference between companion planting and a guild?

I've been growing annuals for about 10 years and really had success following Ed Smiths WORD planting with companion plants. Saw a huge difference in my yields.

Are these terms similar? Are there other terms like that in permaculture that are wordplay on similar ways to do things?

I would suggest that they are similar, however companion planting is more commonly used to refer to mixed planting of annuals often in an otherwise intensive vegetable bed.

"Guilds" covers a similar concept but would usually be used to refer to perennials. Classic guilds include comfrey under fruit trees - the comfrey mines minerals from deep in the soil making them available for the trees.

I would agree with Michael and might expand further on the guild idea - These tend to be plants selected with intention to be grown together with function in mind - Nitrogen fixing, ground cover, dynamic accumulator, insect attractant, deterrent or distractor - usually to grow together to form an ecosystem around a tree in a forest garden.

To my mind companion planting is a much simpler arrangement and tends to not necessarily explain always the how and why plants grow well together (or not). It's sometimes to do with allelopathy below ground and sometimes to do with scents above ground.