help

Etymology 1

From Middle English help, from Old English help (“help, aid, assistance, relief”), from Proto-Germanic *helpō (“help”), *hilpiz, *hulpiz, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱelb-, *ḱelp- (“to help”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hälpe (“help”), West Frisian help (“help”), Dutch hulp (“help”), Low German Hülp (“help”), German Hilfe (“help, aid, assistance”), Danish hjælp (“help”), Swedish hjälp (“help”), Norwegian hjelp (“help”).

noun

1. (uncountable) Action given to provide assistance; aid.
   I need some help with my homework.
2. Something or someone which provides assistance with a task.
   He was a great help to me when I was moving house.
3. Documentation provided with computer software, etc. and accessed using the computer.
   I can't find anything in the help about rotating an image.
4. (countable) A study aid.
   I've printed out a list of math helps.
   In 1979 the Church published a Latter-day Saint edition of the King James Version of the Bible in English. Included in this edition were numerous helps to make a study of the scriptures more meaningful and rewarding. c. 2002, “Scripture Study Helps”, in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
5. (usually uncountable) One or more people employed to help in the maintenance of a house or the operation of a farm or enterprise.
   The help is coming round this morning to clean.
   Most of the hired help is seasonal, for the harvest.
6. (uncountable) Correction of deficits, as by psychological counseling or medication or social support or remedial training.
   His suicide attempts were a cry for help.
   He really needs help in handling customer complaints.
   “He’s a real road-rager.” / “Yup, he really needs help, maybe anger management.”

Etymology 2

From Middle English helpen, from Old English helpan (“to help, aid, assist, benefit, relieve, cure”), from Proto-West Germanic *helpan, Proto-Germanic *helpaną (“to help”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱelb-, *ḱelp- (“to help”). Cognate with West Frisian helpe (“to help”), Dutch helpen (“to help”), Low German helpen, hölpen (“to help”), German helfen (“to help”), Danish hjælpe (“to help”), Norwegian hjelpe (“to help”), Lithuanian šelpti (“to help, support”).

verb

1. (transitive) To provide assistance to (someone or something).
   He helped his grandfather cook breakfast.
   Risk is everywhere.[…]For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you. “The Norm Chronicles”[…]aims to help data-phobes find their way through this blizzard of risks. 2013-06-22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76
2. (transitive) To assist (a person) in getting something, especially food or drink at table; used with to.
   It is polite to help your guests to food before serving yourself.
   Help yourself to whatever's in the fridge.
3. (transitive) To contribute in some way to.
   The white paint on the walls helps make the room look brighter.
   If you want to get a job, it helps to have some prior experience.
4. (intransitive) To provide assistance.
   She was struggling with the groceries, so I offered to help.
   Please, help!
   As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and eager to help, and he stripped off his tunic at once. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess
   Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism. 2013-06-29, “A punch in the gut”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, pages 72–3
5. (transitive) To avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can.
   We couldn’t help noticing that you were late.
   We couldn’t help but notice that you were late.
   She’s trying not to smile, but she can’t help herself.
   Can I help it if I'm so beautiful?
   Can I help it that I fell in love with you?
   Are they going to beat us? Not if I can help it!
   She never does more than she can help.
6. (Hong Kong) To do something on the behalf of someone.
   Can you help me buy some groceries? Underlying meaning is “Can you go do the groceries for me?”

intj

1. A cry of distress or an urgent request for assistance
   — Take that, you scoundrel. — Help! Robin, help! (Robin Hood (1973))