helper

Etymology

From Middle English helpere, from Old English *helpere, from Proto-West Germanic *helpārī (“helper”), equivalent to help + -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hälper (“helper”), West Frisian helper (“helper”), Dutch helper (“helper”), German Low German Helper (“helper”), German Helfer (“helper”), Danish hjælper (“helper”), Swedish hjälpare (“helper”), Icelandic hjálpar (“helper”).

noun

1. One who helps; an aide; assistant; auxiliary.
2. That which helps; anything serving to assist.
   While Adobe's Acrobat Reader, Macromedia's Flash player, and other common plug-ins suggest themselves the moment you encounter a site that requires them, other browser helpers are harder to find. 2005, PC World, volume 23, page 158
   He no longer liked food that had “helper” in the name, such as Hamburger Helper and Tuna Helper. Patsy said he'd become uppity, and maybe, when it came to food, he had. 2012, Jude Deveraux, The Mulberry Tree, page 84
   If a particular calculation is to be used a few times, it makes sense to put it in a helper cell so that it can be referred to by other formulas. 2014, Neale Blackwood, Advanced Excel Reporting for Management Accountants, page 154
3. (Singapore, Hong Kong) A person who does cleaning and cooking in a family home, or in a market; domestic employee.
4. (rail transport, US) A locomotive that assists a train, usually on steep gradients.
   A device for the automatic control of crewless helper locomotives cut into the make-up of heavy freight trains has been perfected by the Louisville & Nashville RR in conjunction with the General Railway Signalling Co. 1964 November, “Automatic helper locomotive control on the Louisville & Nashville RR, USA”, in Modern Railways, page 354