▪ I. help, v.
(hɛlp)
Pa. tense helped (hɛlpt), arch. holp (həʊlp); pa. pple. helped, arch. holpen (ˈhəʊlpən, -p(ə)n). Forms: 1 helpan, 2–4 helpen, 3–7 helpe, 4– help. (Also 3 halp-, healp-, heolp-, elp, 6 healp(e.) pa. tense and pple.: see below.
[Com. Teut. str. vb.: OE. helpan, healp (hulpon), holpen = OFris. helpa, OS. helpan (Du., LG. helpen), OHG. helfan (Ger. helfen), ON. hjálpa (Sw. hjelpa, Da. hjelpe), Goth. hilpan, halp (hulpum), hulpans: OTeut. ablaut series help-, halp-, hulp- (holp-). The expected pre-Teut. form is *kelb-: a root kelp- in same sense appears in Lith. szèlpti to help. Of the strong inflexions, the normal ME. pa. tense sing. was halp; the pl. was holpen (with o of pa. pple.), later holp(e, which c 1500 was extended also to the sing., and continued in frequent use till 17th c.; it is now a rare archaism exc. in U.S. dial. use. The pa. pple. holpen, kept alive by biblical and liturgical use, is still employed by poets and archaists (and occurs also in U.S. dial.); from 14th to 17th c. it occurs shortened to holp(e. The weak inflexion helped is found from c 1300, and has gradually become the usual form. For other points see the Forms below.]
A. Illustrations of Forms of pa. tense and pa. pple.
1. strong pa. tense. a. 1st and 3rd sing. α1 healp, 2–3 hêlp, 5 huelp. β3–5 halp. γ6–7 holpe, 6– holp; (U.S. dial.) holpen.
| α c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. v. 45 He..his healp. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 79 A preost..him nawiht ne help. a 1300 Floriz & Bl. 761 Ho him rodde and help. c 1410 Chron. Eng. 558 in Ritson Metr. Rom. He huelp hire brother. |
| β c 1200 Ormin 1342 Hemm itt hallp. c 1305 Judas 108 in E.E.P. (1862) 110 He halp menie man. 1470–85 Malory Arthur ii. xiii, Her blood halpe not the lady. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. xiii. 15 His yongest doughter halp hym. |
| γ 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccxx. 283 The kyng of Cypre holpe them. 1559 Mirr. Mag., Warwicke xvii, I lyke wyse hym refused: And holpe vp Henry. 1571 Campion Hist. Irel. xv. (1633) 48 Who..holpe the Saxons. 1859 Tennyson Guinevere 45 Lancelot holp To raise the Prince. 1890 Dialect Notes I. 68 Holp.., for helped. ‘He holp me out of the scrape.’ 1927 Amer. Speech II. 357/2 He holpen me over the creek. [1931 Amer. Speech VI. 230 Such old forms of English as..‘holp’ for ‘help’, and ‘effen’ for ‘if’ may be heard in the ordinary speech of the natives [of Oregon].] 1940 W. Faulkner Hamlet i. ii. 47 ‘Help him up.’ So the nigger holp Ab onto the horse. 1962 E. B. Atwood Regional Vocab. Texas vi. 118 Items of nonstandard ‘grammer’ are usually considerably more frequent..in the less-educated group: for example clum (climbed), throwed, holp(ed). |
b. 2nd sing. 1–3 hulpe, (3 holpe). subj.. 1–3 hulpe.
| c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) lxx[i]. 20 Ðonne ðu..hulpe min. c 1200 Ormin 12033 But iff þatt Godd himm hullpe þær. c 1205 Lay. 8931 Þu me hulpe [c 1275 holpe]. |
c. pl. α1 hulpon. β3–4 holpen. γ4–7 holpe, 6–7 holp, (4 hylpe). δ4 halp. ε5 heelp.
| α, β, γ a 1000 Christ 1353 in Exeter Bk., Ᵹe hyra hulpon. c 1000 Shrine 162/16 (Bosw.) Ða steortas hulpan ealle ðæs hæfdes. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3382 Hise benes hem holpen wel. c 1320 R. Brunne Medit. 922 Anone runne to alle..and hylpe. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. vi. 108 To erie þis halue acre holpyn hym manye. 1382 Wyclif 1 Esdras x. 15 Mosollam, and Sebethai, Leuitus, holpen hem. 1600 Holland Livy vii. x. 255 Then his feeres and companions holpe to arme the younge Gentleman. 1605 Lond. Prodigal i. i, These hands of mine holp to wind him. |
| δ 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 2217 No his tvifold armes halp him nouȝt. |
| ε 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 130/1 All men..heelp them. |
2. strong pa. pple. α1– holpen, (4–5 -yn(e). β4–7 holpe, (4 hulpe), 6–7 holp.
| c 1200 Ormin 6201 Eȝȝþer birrþ þurrh oþerr beon Hollpenn. c 1340 Hampole Prose Tr. (1866) 28 Nede for to be lukede to and holpyne by þe. 1382 Wyclif Ps. lxxxv[i]. 17 Thou Lord hast holpe me. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1984 Ariadne, He shal ben holpyn. 1526 Tindale Luke i. 54 He..hath holpen his servaunt Israhel. 1581 Rich Farew. Milit. Prof. (1846) 14 We have..holpe them at many a pinche. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 120 The Hound must be holp..with the voyce..of the Hunter. 1676 Hobbes Iliad i. 378 If you have holpen Jove with word or deed. 1856 Mrs. Browning Aur. Leigh 24, I who was Entreated thus and holpen. 1881 ‘Mark Twain’ Prince & Pauper xix. 221 Of a truth I was right—he hath holpen in a kitchen. |
3. weak pa. tense and pple. α3– helped, (4–5 -id, -yd, -et, -it, -yt), 6–9 helpt. β6–7 holpt.
| α a 1300 Cursor M. 20184 Freindes..me helped. a 1300 E.E. Psalter xxvii[i]. 7 In him hoped mi hert, and helped [v.r. hulpen] am I. 1676 Hobbes Iliad. i. 553, I would have helpt you once. |
| β 1583 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 52 Downe Menelaus is holpt. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 22 By drinking asses milk they be holpt. |
B. Signification.
1. trans. To furnish (a person, etc.) with what is serviceable to his efforts or his needs; to aid, assist. a. To add one's own action or effort to that of (another) so as to make it more effectual; to further the action or purpose of. (See also 5 b).
In OE. construed with genitive or dative (as if = to be a helper of, helpful to), of which the former became obs. and the latter ceased to be distinguishable from the accusative.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. v. 44 He nyle..helpan ðæs folces mid ðæm þe he [God] his healp. a 1000 Hymns vii. 44 (Gr.) Ðu moneᵹum helpst. c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) lxx. 20 [lxxi. 21] Ðonne..ðu hulpe min. a 1035 Laws Cnut ii. c. 68 [69] (Schmid) Helpan aa þam raðost, þe helpes betst behofað. a 1067 Charter Eadweard in Cod. Dipl. IV. 206 Gode geuðe mine saule to helpene. c 1205 Lay. 9263 And þe eorl Aruiragus Mid æðele help his broðer. 1382 Wyclif Rev. xii. 16 The erthe helpide the womman. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxxviii. 263 He worshyped halp and mayntened holy chirche and hir mynystres. 1484 ― Fables of æsop iii. vi, Fortune helpeth bothe the good and euylle folke. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. I. 4/2 They faine..that Jupiter holpe his sonne Hercules, by throwing downe stones from heauen in this battell. 1700 Gregory in Collect. (O.H.S.) I. 322 Machines for the helping and enlarging the sight (as telescopes). 1865 Ruskin Sesame §30 note, A nation in its youth may be helped by laws, as a weak child by backboards. |
b. To supply or relieve the wants or necessities of; to succour.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xx. 30 Milsa us vel help usiᵹ sunu dauides. c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 442 We sceolon earmra manna helpan. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 79 Þer com a prost bi þe weie and him nawiht ne help. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 9 Help þe hauelease. c 1205 Lay. 28394 Heo him heolpen At heȝere neoden. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 3567 Þe saules, þat til purgatory wendes, May be helped thurgh help of frendes. 1578 Timme Caluine on Gen. 276 Who would haue suffered him rather to perish with hunger an hundred times than that they would haue holpen him in his need. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. i. ii. 111 Helpe me Cassius, or I sinke. 1733 Pope Hor. Sat. ii. i. 137 To help who want, to forward who excel. |
c. In subj. pres., in invocations and oaths: esp. in so help me God, the customary formula in a solemn oath; and in God help him (them, etc.), often a parenthetical exclamation of pity for the helpless condition of the person spoken of. Also ellipt. so help me, and as a variant so help me bob. Cf. swelp.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 33 Ah swa me helpe drihten, þe ilke mon þe wule fulien alle his sunne lustes..ne kimeð he nefre inne heoueneriche. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2528 And he ðat ðise lettres wrot, God him helpe weli mot, And berȝe is sowle fro sorȝe & grot Of helle pine. c 1369 Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 550, I wolde as wys god helpe me soo Amende hyt yif I kan or may. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 159, I hait him with my hert, sa help me our Lord! 1605 Shakes. Macb. iv. ii. 59 Now God helpe thee, poore Monkie. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 190, I N N. sweare..that I will..and give my Voice..as God helpe me, [etc.]. 1821 P. Egan Life in London ii. iii. 229 She tripped me up, my Lord, so help me bob, it is true. 1847 Tennyson Princ. iii. 67, I never knew my father, but she says (God help her) she was wedded to a fool. 1868 Act 31–2 Vict. c. 72 §2, I..do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, her heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God. 1869 Trollope Vicar of Bullhampton (1870) iii. 20 Just go home to father's, sir; not a foot else, s' help me. 1936 L. C. Douglas White Banners iv. 69 That he would never again..so help him..fritter away precious time. 1939 Joyce Finnegans Wake 118 So holp me Petault, it is not a miseffectual whyacinthinous riot of blots and blurs. |
d. absol. or intr. To afford aid or assistance; often in imp. as a cry for assistance.
(See note to 1 as to OE. constr.)
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 320 Cause is, hwi þu hit dudest, oðer hulpe þerto. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 44 Help knyghtes, if ȝe may, I may no ferrer go. 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 416 Schir philip..gan cry: ‘Help, help! I have the new maid king! c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 447 Dan Benna halp ryȝt well þerto. 1589 Cogan Haven Health (1636) 176 Yet the goodnesse of the pasture helpeth much to the goodnesse of the milke. 1591 Troub. Raigne K. John (1611) 19 Help hands, I haue no lands, Honor is my desire. 1611 Bible 2 Sam. xiv. 4 Shee fell on her face to the ground, and did obeysance, and said, Helpe, O king. 1811 Byron Hints fr. Hor. 817 Help, Christians, as ye hope for grace! |
† 2. a. trans. To benefit, do good to; to be of use or service to, to profit. Obs. (exc. as implied in 1.)
| c 1000 Inst. Polity in Thorpe Anc. Laws II. 332 Þonne helpe ᵹe wel þam þe ᵹe lærað, ᵹif hi eowrum larum fyliᵹean willað. a 1200 Moral Ode 297 Ne mai heom noþer helpen þer i-bede ne almesse. c 1340 Cursor M. 1439 (Fairf.) Ne muȝt ham help na hali-hede, Attyn to hel þai most nede. c 1470 Henry Wallace iii. 237 Bot loss our men, it helpis ws rycht nocht. 1535 Coverdale 1 Macc. ii. 13 What helpeth it vs then to lyue? 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) 2 b, To consider the things that helpe him, and the things that hurt him. 1582 N. T. (Rhem.) Matt. xxv. 9 margin, We shal not be holpen by other mens deserts at the day of iudgement. 1648 Gage West Ind. vi. 17 Iron, Knives, or such things which may help them in their Wars. |
† b. absol. or intr. To be of use or service; to avail. Often quasi-impersonal. Obs. (exc. as implied in 1 d.)
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 134 Wiþ fefre eft hylpð syndriᵹo marubie to drincanne. c 1205 Lay. 16181 Heo rohten, þat heo inoh hafden, þeh hit lutel hulpe. a 1300 Cursor M. 20271 Lat be weping, it helps noght. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1962 What helpeth it to tarien forth the day? c 1477 Caxton Jason 76 b, Appollo..dyde all that he coude but yt halpe not ner profited no thing. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 192 A similitude, whiche beyng dilated helpeth well for amplification. 1747 Wesley Prim. Physic (1762) 97 Mustard, and Juice of Scurvy Grass, help in a cold Scurvy. [1756 Burke Subl. & B. ii. iv, In reality, a great clearness helps but little towards affecting the passions.] |
3. refl. a. To put forth needed effort in one's own behalf; to do of oneself what is needed; to extricate oneself from a difficulty.
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 2103 Ha ne mahen nowðer Helpen ham seoluen, Ne heom þat ham seruið. c 1275 Lay. 30390 For niþing worþe þe mon þat nele him seolue heolpe. a 1300 Cursor M. 16255 If þou wil noght help þi-self, men haldes þe for quede. 1551 T. Wilson Logike (1580) 74 b, God will helpe them..if thei helpe theimselves. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 247 She is old, and cannot helpe her selfe. 1860 Emerson Cond. Life, Fate (1861) 14 He helps himself on each emergency by copying or duplicating his own structure, just so far as the need is. 1873 F. W. Robinson Little Kate Kirby I. iv. 45, I don't think that I shall require your assistance, or that I shall be unable to help myself. 1881 S. R. Gardiner Introd. Eng. Hist. viii. §3. 153 He [Cromwell] had no pleasure in ruling by force. But he could not help himself. |
† b. with of or with: To make use of, avail oneself of. Obs. (= F. se servir de).
| 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. ii. xx. 133 We have holpen us of the saynges of the boke of Vegece. c 1489 ― Sonnes of Aymon xxiv. 528, I byleve that this devyll helpeth himself wyth som devilry. 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. ii. (1586) 50 b, I judge them mervailous unfortunate that cannot helpe themselves with those qualities they are indued withall, at such time. 1628 Digby Voy. Medit. 64 Through..a dishonest desire to helpe himselfe of my being there. |
c. with to: see 7, 8.
4. trans. To make (an action, process, condition, etc.) more effectual; to assist in bringing about; to further, promote. See help forward, help on, in 5.
| 1559 Mirr. Mag., Hen. VI, xiv, The other sinne, through humours holpe, which god doth highly hate. a 1626 Bacon Sylva §364 If you make the Earth narrower at the bottome than at the Top..it will helpe the Experiment. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 656 Thir armor help'd thir harm. 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. India 355 We were forced to Eat Bacon..Raw, and afterwards help the Digestion of it with Indian Brandy. 1874 Green Short Hist. ii. §6. 90 The troubles of the time helped here as elsewhere the progress of the town. |
5. With inf. or clause: a. With inf. alone. (This may either arise through ellipsis of the object in b, or may be a use of sense 4 with inf. obj.)
In this and b the infinitive has normally to, which however from 16th c. is often omitted: this is now a common colloq. form.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 37 To seke gan, and þa deden helpen to buriene. c 1320 R. Brunne Medit. 922 And hylpe þat precyus body to bere. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 135 Theodorus..halp to putte Wilfridus out of his bisshopricke. c 1410 Love Bonavent. Mirr. l. 104 (Gibbs MS.), I halp to burye hym. 1548 Udall Erasm. Par. Luke 6 b, To helpe garnishe his mother tongue. 1598 R. Barckley Felic. Man (1631) 220 He proved so good a scholler that it holpe to work the destruction of his owne soule and many others. c 1611 Chapman Iliad xiii. (R.), Many helpfull men That..would then Helpe beare his mighty seven-fold shield. 1625 Burges Pers. Tithes 18 Yet is hee still..bound to help maintaine his Minister, if he be in want. 1735 Pope Ep. Arbuthnot 248 He help'd to bury whom he help'd to starve. 1853 Lynch Self-Improv. iii. 58 All the leaves that helped nourish it. 1862 Tyndall Mountaineer vi. 55 Such thoughts had a dynamic value, and helped to lift me over the rocks. 1941 Punch 2 July 13/3 Sir Kingsley Wood..asked the House for another {pstlg}1,000,000,000, to help pay for the next three months of war. |
b. With obj. and inf. To aid or assist (a person to do something). (See sense 1.)
| c 1200 Ormin 1342 Forr hemm itt hallp biforenn Godd To clennsenn hemm off sinne. a 1300 Cursor M. 28363 Or help oþer men to sing. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. vii. 99 To heren þis half-Acre helpen him ful monye. c 1430 Lydg. Compl. Bl. Knt. xxvi, But who shal helpe me now for to compleyne. a 1539 Coverdale Remains (1846) 575, I wyll helpe synners turne to the. 1662 J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 400 The Envoy help'd him to put it on. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. 214 Every Ships company made [canoas] for themselves, but we all helped each other to launch them. 1852 M. Arnold Empedocles on Etna i. i, I would fain stay and help thee tend him. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xi. III. 49 The hereditary enemies of his house had helped him to mount a throne. 1936 Punch 1 Apr. 375/1, I suppose you two fellows wouldn't help me get the stuff into the coal-cellar, would you? 1940 Ibid. 5 June 620/3 The collection of waste⁓paper that's going to help us win the war. 1971 D. E. Westlake I gave at Office (1972) 121 None of the locals..had any desire to help us off-load the plane. |
† c. With obj. clause: To procure or assist in procuring (that something should be done). Obs.
| c 1410 Hoccleve Mother of God 136 Helpith me þat I may my lyf amende. c 1440 Gesta Rom. i. 1 (Harl. MS.), I woll wite, if þou cowde helpe þat he were ded by ony Crafte. 15.. Merch. & Son 49 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 136 Be yowre bettur avyse, Helpe y had a gode maystyr to teche me marchandyse. |
6. a. Elliptically with adverbs or prepositions: = to help to proceed, go, come, or ‘get’ (away, down, forward, in, off, on, out, up, etc.; to, into, out of, etc.). See also 7.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 103 Aris, louerd, and elp me up. c 1300 Cursor M. 25390 (Cott. Galba) Askinges seuyn þat helpes vs to þe blis of heuyn. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. iii. 38 Trewe charite That most helpeþ men to heuene. 1535 Coverdale Matt. x. 21 Chyldren shall aryse agaynst their fathers & mothers & shall helpe them to deeth. 1586 Holinshed Chron., Irel. III. 89/2 It was holpen forward by Thomas Canon. 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. ii. iii. 209 Why dost not comfort me and helpe me out, From this vnhallow'd and blood-stained Hole? 1598 ― Merry W. iii. iii. 149 Helpe mee away. 1611 ― Cymb. v. iv. 179 A Hangman to helpe him to bed. a 1635 Naunton Fragm. Reg. (Arb.) 54 To help on his Catastrophe. 1781 Cowper Charity 522 Strange! how the frequent interjected dash, Quickens a market, and helps off the trash. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus x. 8 Had it helped me to profit or to money. 1886 J. Fothergill Borderland xxix. (1887) 337, I am thankful to be helped forward a bit. 1886 G. T. Stokes Celtic Ch. (1888) 349 You can all do something to help on that work. |
b. With adverb (or adverbial phrase) followed by with: = to help (a person) to put, take, or get something (on, off, up, down, etc.); esp. in reference to clothing, e.g. to help a person on (or off) with his coat = to help him to get it on (or off).
| c 1300 Havelok 901 Þan men haueden holpen him doun With þe birþene of his croun. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 170 Helpe me of with my bootes and my spurres. 1570 Durham Depos. (Surtees) 166 He..helpt the said Holmes on with his mess clothes. 1698 Wanley in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 258, I did all in my power..to help her off with above {pstlg}400 worth of her books. 1886 F. W. Robinson Court. Mary Smith vi. iv, If you will help me on with my coat. a 1898 Mod. Help me up the hill with this load. |
c. help out or help through: to afford assistance in completing something; to eke out, supplement. Also absol.
| 1618 Bolton Florus i. iii. (1636) 10 Horatius..helping out his valour with his wit. a 1632 Fairfax (J.), Boldest hearts good fortune helpeth out. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 59. ¶6 She..helps out his Verse, and furnishes him with Rhymes. 1722 De Foe Plague (1756) 125 They have given me a Bag of Bread too, and a Salt Fish and some Flesh; so all helps out. 1722 Wollaston Relig. Nat. ix. 194 To expect omnipotence should interpose to help out a bad cause. 1815 Scott Guy M. xliv, I will sit wi' you..and help ye out wi' your bottle. 1874 L. B. Walford Mr. Smith xxx. (1876) 261, I looked to you, and you wouldn't say a word to help me out. 1917 Dialect Notes IV. 413 Holp v. tr., to help. ‘I axed him to holp me out.’ |
d. To render assistance in dealing with.
| 1924 A. D. Sedgwick Little French Girl i. v, If he sat there..not helping with the water-cans, the baskets of flowers, the scissors, it was because he loved her and wanted to watch her. 1933 Punch 26 July 104/2 ‘Poetry. I believe people use it in exams to remember rules..and things...’ ‘That wouldn't help with Greek and Latin,’ said Charles. |
e. Phr. to help the police in (or with) their inquiries: to be questioned by the police in connection with a crime, often regarded as having the implication of being the chief suspect; also to help the police, to help with inquiries.
| 1957 Times 3 Sept. 4/3 The police are anxious to trace an itinerant photographer... It is believed that he may be able to help them in their inquiries. 1970 Guardian 10 Nov. 20/4 A man was helping police last night after the body of Susan Young, aged 12..was found. 1971 ‘J. Fraser’ Death in Pheasant's Eye xxvi. 162 What's the deadline for arresting Stanley Robinson? At the moment he's ‘helping with enquiries’. 1972 V. C. Clinton-Baddeley To study Long Silence ii. 72 In newspaper language..the man who is ‘helping the police’ is the chap who's being badgered into a confession. 1973 Sunday Times 14 Oct. 1/1 A 17-year-old girl..was found battered to death... Later, a man was helping police with their inquiries. |
7. help (a person) to (also † with): to help him to attain to, to aid in obtaining; hence, to furnish, provide, or present with. help oneself to: to provide oneself with, take for oneself; euphem. to appropriate (something not one's own), to steal. Also simply to help oneself. Cf. next.
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 78 Goddis lawe helpeþ hem not her-to. 1458 in Turner Dom. Archit. III. 43 Gentil Jeffray, That clothed many a pore man to bed and to rige, And hathe holpe to rentis to holde up this waye. 1535 Coverdale 1 Macc. viii. 13 Whom they wolde helpe to their kyngdomes. 1568 Grafton Chron., Hen. VIII, an. 19 (R.), The emperor's dominions had holpen them with corne. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. i. 31 b, Desiring him too helpe him with a barrell of fresh water, for that theirs began to stinke. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. iv. ii. 87 Helpe me to a Candle, and pen, inke, and paper. 1674 tr. Scheffer's Lapland 142, I have not met with any one that could help me to the exact shape of them. 1708 Swift Sacram. Test Wks. 1755 II. i. 127, I will help you to enough of them. 1868 Every Boys' Ann. viii. (Rtldg.) 138 Not quite as bad as the ants, who walked in and helped themselves. 1883 E. Blackwell Booth iv. 31 They helped themselves freely to the furniture of an uninhabited house. |
8. a. To serve (a person) with food at a meal. Const. to.
| 1688 Miege French Dict. s.v. Help, Shall I help you to a piece of Veal? 1711 Addison Spect. No. 119 ¶4 He will not help himself at Dinner 'till I am served. 1741 Richardson Pamela II. 110 So I carv'd it in a Trice, and helped the Ladies. 1762 Goldsm. Cit. W. xxxiii, I begged to be helped from a piece of beef. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth vi, He did not help himself to any food. 1881 C. Gibbon Heart's Prob. xi. (1884) 171 Maurice..helped himself to a bumper of sherry. |
| absol. 1888 Besant Fifty Years Ago vii. 121 The host sat behind the haunch of mutton, and ‘helped’ with zeal. |
b. transf. To serve, distribute (food) at a meal.
| 1805 Emily Clark Banks of Douro II. 191 A goose..which [she] carved and helped to every person that chose to have any of it. 1829 Marryat F. Mildmay iv, My father..was in the very midst of helping his soup. 1876 Besant & Rice Gold. Butterfly II. 53 There's a fate in it..it is helped, and must be eaten. 1889 J. K. Jerome 3 Men in Boat 221, I want a spoon to help the gravy with. 1919 V. Woolf Night & Day xxxi. 2 She behaves very oddly. She forgets to help the pudding. 1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling i. 11 Ma Baxter sat at the table waiting for them, helping their plates. |
c. help-yourself, used attrib. esp. of a restaurant or cafeteria where one serves oneself, or of the meal obtained there; also as n. Also transf.
| 1894 M. Fry Let. in E. H. Jones Margery Fry (1966) v. 37 Then at 1 is lunch..a help-yourself meal and you get up and come away as soon as you've done without waiting for anyone else. 1923 [see cafeteria]. 1955 T. H. Pear Eng. Social Diff. 183 The ‘help yourself’ cafeteria system. 1959 R. Postgate Good Food Guide 280 There is an à la carte menu and a ‘help-yourself’ lunch for the hasty at 6/6. 1961 Times Lit. Suppl. 13 Oct. 712/5 Up to a point he has invented the help-yourself novel. 1967 ‘A. Gilbert’ Visitor iii. 38, I got a cup of coffee and a sandwich at a help-yourself, and went back to the flat. |
9. To succour in some distress or misfortune (cf. 1 b); hence, to deliver, save, set free, relieve (from, of); spec. to relieve or cure of a disease, or of some evil condition. Obs. or arch.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 110 He ne help him suluen in his muchele pine. a 1300 Cursor M. 5727 (Gött.) He helpid þaim of þair wa. c 1386 Chaucer Merch. T. 1126, I haue yow holpe on bothe youre eyen blynde. ― Frankl. T. 577 Thanke yow lord and lady myn Venus That me han holpen fro my cares colde. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. vii. 6 This helpith whete From auntys and fro mys. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 15 To use such remedies..as have holpen others of like diseases. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 100 Doth not Tryacle as well poyson as helpe, if it be taken out of time? 1594 Plat Jewell-ho. iii. 59 To helpe beere that beginneth to soure. 1683 Salmon Doron Med. iii. 647 Some have been helpt of blindness by the use thereof. 1832 Tennyson Mariana in South iii, Mother, give me grace To help me of my weary load. 1870 ― Victim i, Help us from famine And plague and strife! |
10. a. To relieve or cure (a malady, etc.); to remedy, amend. Obs. or arch.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark ix. 24 Ic ᵹelefo, help un-ᵹeleaffulnise minne. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iv. iii. (1495) 83 The Tysyk and Etyk and other suche euylles may vneth be holpe by socour of medycynes. c 1410 Hoccleve Mother of God 33 Helpe my distresse. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. vi, All her ill was holpe and remedyed. 1576 Baker Jewell of Health 130 b, This helpeth poysoning and comforteth al the members. 1594 Plat Jewell-ho. iii. 72 How to helpe smoking Chimnies. 1633 Treas. Hid. Secrets cv, This soveraigne water helpeth the Toothache. 1733 Pope Ess. Man iii. 51 He only knows, And helps, another creature's wants and woes. 1842 Tennyson Locksley Hall 105 But the jingling of the guinea helps the hurt that Honour feels. |
b. To mend, repair. Obs. or dial.
| 1518 Churchw. Acc. St. Michael Spurriergate, York, For helpyng ye sacrynbell at Mary Mawdland alter. 1527 Ibid., Paid for helpyng of Sir Herry surples. 1847–78 Halliwell, Help, to mend, or repair. |
11. a. To remedy, obviate, prevent, cause to be otherwise. (With can, cannot, or some equivalent.)
In earlier use usually in passive ‘it cannot be helped’, later in active with personal subject ‘I cannot help it’ = I cannot do anything to remedy or prevent it.
| 1589 Cogan Haven Health (1636) 175 But this last inconvenience may bee holpen, as he teacheth afterward. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iii. i. 241 Cease to lament for that thou canst not helpe. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. ii. §7 Deficient they are no doubt..but the deficience cannot be holpen. 1659 D. Pell Impr. Sea 401 If so bee that ships bee cast away..it cannot bee helped. 1668 Pepys Diary 18 June, One thing there is..which I fear will touch me; but I shall help it, I hope. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 43 ¶3 If other People are not of our Opinion, we can't help that. 1865 Trollope Belton Est. viii. 87 How can I help it that I am not a man and able to work for my bread? 1890 Besant Demoniac v. 60 You do not believe. Well, we cannot help that. 1963 Sunday Express 3 Mar. 2/5 You are aware that the archdeacon swears that he never wears pyjamas?—I can't help that. |
b. To prevent oneself from, avoid, refrain from, forbear; to do otherwise than. (With can, cannot.) Usually with vbl. n. (rarely inf.), or it = doing it.
(For quot. 1894: cf. but C. 7 b.)
| 1697 in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Col. Ch. I. 39, I was very unwilling to take a Scotch Schoolmaster if I could have holpen it. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 155 ¶2, I..cannot help hearing the improper Discourses. 1741 Chesterfield Lett. (1792) I. lxxvii. 213 He could not help thinking in verse, whether he would or not. 1757 E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances (1767) I. 187, I can't help frequently to haunt and revisit these dear scenes. 1772 H. Walpole Last Jrnls. (1859) I. 38, I thought he should not offend the King if he could help it. 1808 Cobbett Pol. Reg. XIII. 528 No man can help being a coward or a fool. 1862 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. x. iii. III. 238 Not one of us could help laughing. 1865 Kingsley Herew. II. xvi. 276 He could not help to weep and sigh, but yet himself he would not forget. 1883 Manch. Guard. 22 Oct. 5/6 A few such blunders as these could scarcely have been helped. 1894 Hall Caine Manxm. i. ix. 43 She could not help but plague the lad. 1928 Manch. Guardian Weekly 5 Oct. 263/4 If clairvoyants are to be attached to police stations they can hardly help but become officials. 1952 G. Sarton Hist. Sci. I. xxi. 526 They were brutally raped by conquistadors..who could not help increase geographic knowledge. |
c. Idiomatically with negative omitted (can for cannot), after a negative expressed or implied.
| 1862 Whately in Gd. Words Aug. 496 In colloquial language it is common to hear persons say, ‘I won't do so-and-so more than I can help’, meaning, more than I can not help. 1864 J. H. Newman Apol. 25 Your name shall occur again as little as I can help, in the course of these pages. 1879 Spurgeon Serm. XXV. 250, I did not trouble myself more than I could help. 1885 Edna Lyall In Golden Days III. xv. 316, I do not believe we shall be at the court more than can be helped. |
▪ II. help, n.
(hɛlp)
Forms: 1 help, helpe, 2– help, (2–7 helpe, 4 heelpe, hilp, hylp, 5 (?) holp, 6 healpe).
[OE. help = OFris. helpe, OS. helpa (MDu. and MLG. helpe, help), OHG. helfa, hilfa (MHG. helfe, hilfe), ON. hjalp (Sw., Da. hjelp):—OTeut. *helpâ str. fem.; f. stem of helpan to help. In OE. the n. was also str. masc. or neut. (gen. helpes) and weak fem. (acc. helpan). The continental langs. have also a form from the ablaut-grade hulp-, OHG. hulfa, MG. hulfe, OLG. hulpa, MDu. hulpe, hulp, Du. hulp, Ger. hülfe.]
1. a. The action of helping; the supplementing of action or resources by what makes them more efficient; aid, assistance, succour.
| Beowulf (Z.) 1552 Nemne him heaðo-byrne helpe ᵹefremede. 971 Blickl. Hom. 105 Hwa him to hæle and to helpe and to feorhnere on þas world astaᵹ. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 13 Ȝe me þenne clepiað and helpes me biddað. a 1225 Juliana 33 Habbe ich þin anes help. a 1300 Cursor M. 122 Al þis werld, or þis bok blin, Wit cristes help I sal ouerrin. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 28 Þou art goon out in heelpe of þi folk. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 1030 Wiþ þe hilp of god almiȝt. Ibid. 3208 Hylp on hem nys none. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 7 By whiche ye atteyne helpe of the holy gost. 1513 Douglas æneis viii. ix. heading, Evander sendis his son..in help of Eneas. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 88 Calling out for helpe. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 281 ¶4 By the help of our Glasses [we] discern'd in it Millions of little Scars. 1779 Johnson L.P., Pope Wks. IV. 91 He..neither went to bed nor rose without help. 1849 Macaulay Hist. E. ii. I. 208 To learn that the princes of the House of Stuart needed his help, and were willing to purchase that help by unbounded subserviency. |
b. With a and pl. An act of helping, an aid. (Now rare, or merged in sense 2.)
| a 1300 Cursor M. 23759 His helpes and vr wittes eke. c 1400 Destr. Troy 7166 All the Troiens..Helit þere hurt men þurgh helpis of leches. 1549 Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. Jas. 37 Let vs distruste oure owne helpes and the helpes of this worlde. 1707 Curios. in Husb. & Gard. 27 The Helps we have receiv'd from the Microscope. 1775 Burke Corr. (1844) II. 72, I am perfectly sensible of the greatness of the difficulties, and the weakness and fewness of the helps. 1883 Stevenson Treas. Isl. ii. xii, I'll ask you, later on, to give us a help. |
† c. at help: in the quarter for helping, in (our, etc.) favour.
| 1602 Shakes. Ham. iv. iii. 46 The Barke is readie, and the winde at helpe. |
2. transf. Any thing or person that affords help; a source or means of assistance; an aid.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. iii. ii[i]. §1 (Sweet) 100 Crist is eaðmodeᵹra help and ofermodiᵹra fiell. c 1230 Hali Meid. 13 Ha is us swiðe god freond and help. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 3586 Four maners of helpes er general..Þat es to say, prayer and fastyng, And almus dede and messyng. 1388 Wyclif Gen. ii. 18 It is not good that a man be aloone; make we to hym an help lijk to hym self. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 53 Some require staies and helpes to clime by, as Hoppes, Lupines, and Pease. 1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. (1589) 453 To give him [Adam] a wife for a faithfull companion..and a helpe like unto him⁓selfe. 1611 Bible Ps. xlvi. 1 God is our refuge and strength: a very present helpe in trouble. 1611 ― Acts xxvii. 17 They vsed helps, vnder-girding the ship. 1657 M. Lawrence Use & Pract. Faith 73 He looks at a meet help as a portion promised from God. 1722 De Foe Relig. Courtsh. (1840) 187 A husband will be a sorry help to a wife, if he is not a help in the religious part of her life. 1843 G. Buckle in Fleury's Eccl. Hist. II. 80 note, Their business is..only to be a decent help to their own sex. 1874 Blackie Self-Cult. 1 Books are no doubt very useful helps to knowledge. |
3. A person, or company of persons, whose office it is to render help. † a. gen. Assistant; adjutant.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3409 And taȝte him..Vnder him helpes oðere don. 1533 Bellenden Livy v. (1822) 475 To put all thare gudis and cariage togidder under ane helpe. |
† b. An ally; pl. allies, auxiliary troops. Obs.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 10803 For hope þat he hade of a helpe sone. c 1450 Merlin 113 Fro hens-forth thei hym deffien and his helpes. c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn lii. 197 Wold Subyon or not, & all his helpes, the noble lady..was taken oute of his power. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, ii. i. 178 Now if the helpe of Norfolke, and my selfe..Will but amount to fiue and twenty thousand. |
c. A person employed to give assistance in household or other manual work; in U.S., a hired labourer or servant, esp. a domestic servant.
In U.S. app. originally a person giving temporary or occasional assistance: cf. J. R. Lowell Among my Books Series i. (1870) 251.
lady help, a lady engaged as assistant and companion to the mistress of a house. mother's help, a young woman employed to help in the nursery, but in a position reckoned superior to that of a nurse-maid.
| 1645 Mass. Col. Rec. II. 139 (Bartlett) Such of his servants and helps as have been employed about y⊇ attendance of y⊇ court. 1743 Ellis Mod. Husb. III. ii. 2 Next to them [sc. hired servants] we should be provided with auxiliary Helps. 1807 C. W. Janson Stranger in Amer. 87, I am Mr ―'s help. I'd have you know..that I am no sarvant. 1815 Massachusetts Spy 23 Aug. (Th.), Our lady and gentleman ‘hired helps’ do not understand who is meant when their master is inquired for. 1818 H. B. Fearon Sk. Amer. 80 Servants, let me here observe, are called ‘helps’. If you call a servant by that name they leave you without notice. 1824 Examiner 200/2 The hiring of ‘a help’, anglicè a servant,—a word rejected in America. 1830 Galt Lawrie T. vii. iii. (1849) 322 At this moment..the help, or maiden servant, came. 1838 J. F. Cooper Amer. Democrat 122 Those who aid their masters in the toil may be deemed ‘helps’, but they who perform all the labor do not assist..but they do it themselves. 1861 Thackeray Four Georges i. (1862) 38 Fourteen postillions, nineteen hostlers, thirteen helps. 1883 New Eng. Jrnl. Educ. XVII. 54 The Boston ‘help’ reads Dante while she prepares the succulent pork and beans. a 1899 Mod. Advertisements. Wanted, Lady Help. Wanted, Two superior domestic helps to undertake the duties of cook and housemaid. Wanted, young girl, as useful help. Mother's Help wanted immediately, to assist with two children and housework. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 4 Aug. 2/3 Judge: What is a ‘help’? Plaintiff: Well, she's a cook-housemaid-barmaid. 1949 ‘J. Tey’ Brat Farrar xi. 84 Lana, their ‘help’..‘obliged’ only because her ‘boy friend’ worked in the stables. 1971 [see daily a. 1 b]. |
d. The labour of hired persons; collect. the body of servants belonging to a farm or household. orig. U.S.
| 1817 J. Bradbury Trav. Amer. 318 Ask one of them the reason, he replies, ‘I want help’. 1850 Lyell 2nd Visit U.S. II. 303 The lady's sister..was obliged to milk the cow..such was the scarcity of ‘help’. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. III. xciv. 316 How simply the rooms are furnished, and how little ‘help’..is kept. 1896 Howells Impr. & Exp. 204 We were seven hundred and fifty at table, and the help who served us were three hundred and fifty. 1959 S. Gibbons Pink Front Door xviii. 221 The months when she had been without help had established Molly's unexpected visits as a habit. 1962 P. Mortimer Pumpkin Eater xi. 106 ‘We got help. I don't know why it's called help.’ ‘You mean servants?’ ‘We don't call them servants.’ |
† 4. Avail, boot, good, use. Obs. rare.
| 1562 Pilkington Wks. (Parker Soc.) 30 There is no help to be disobedient and strive against him, for he will have the victory. |
5. † a. Relief, cure, remedy. Obs. exc. as in b.
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 262 Ᵹif þas fultumas ne syn helpe, læt blod þonne. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Petrus 44 Sindry oþir, at war leile, Throw his schadow gat helpe and heile. 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) 3 Not Aesculapius himself..can..give you the least helpe..so long as [etc.]. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iii. ii. 223 What's gone, and what's past helpe Should be past greefe. 1674 tr. Scheffer's Lapland 8 Thir only help against these [winds] is to convey themselves into dens and caves. |
b. Means of obviating or avoiding something; in phr. there is no help for it = it cannot be helped (see help v. 11).
| 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) 26 There is no helpe in it, but you must settle your selfe to like of such men with their imperfections. 1669 Holder Speech (J.), There is no help for it, but he must be taught accordingly to comply with that faulty way of writing. 1863 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 162 It is their way and there is no help for it. 1887 Frith Autobiog. II. v. 112, I was really sorry to dispel my old friend's illusion; but there was no help for it. |
6. A portion of food served; a ‘helping’.
| 1809 Malkin tr. Gil Blas x. iii, Between every succeeding help my servants..filled our large glasses..with wine. 1873 Miss Thackeray Wks. (1891) I. 124 He asked her for a second help of cold pie at luncheon. |
7. attrib. and Comb., as help-girl, help-giver, help-work; † help-ale [see ale 3], a rustic festival or merry-making in celebration of the completion of some work (e.g. haymaking) done with the help of neighbours (obs.); help-mate Chess, a type of chess problem in which Black is required to play so that White may give mate in a certain number of moves.
| 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. (1807) I. 233 The superfluous numbers of idle wakes, guilds, fraternities, church-ales, *helpe-ales, and soule-ales. 1643 Wither Campo Musæ 42 Yea, baser then our Countrey Help-Ales are. 1675 R. Fane Let. 19 Apr. (MS.), Going to every feast and help ale within five miles round. |
| 1863 Mrs. Gaskell Cousin Phillis in Cornhill Mag. Nov. 633 Betty..carried off the great dish to the kitchen, where an old man..and a *help-girl, were awaiting their meal. |
| c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxxi. iii, O my God, my sole *help-giver. |
| 1897 Rowland & Rowland Problem Art 91 Another class of problems..in which both players concur in endeavouring to effect the speediest mate—..which we term *Help-mate Problems. 1913 A. C. White Sam Loyd 31 Whether Loyd was the inventor of the Help-mate problem..I do not know. 1966 New Statesman 11 Nov. 718/3 ‘Help-mate’..Black moves first and helps White to mate in a given number of moves. |
| 1855 Browning Saul vii, Then I played the *help-tune of our reapers. |
| 1883 Harper's Mag. Jan. 207/1 John Chinaman is in force here, as everywhere, for all *help-work. |
Add: [7.] help-line [*-line], a telephone service which specializes in providing information, advice, and help with problems (of a particular kind).
| 1980 N.Y. Times 19 Oct. (Westchester Weekly section) 16/4 Agencies to Coordinate Homebound Services..hired a social worker, set up a homebound *helpline..and created public awareness and advocacy campaigns on behalf of shut-ins. 1984 Listener 11 Oct. 21/3 Finnish TV..carries public service advertisements advising endangered children to ring a special help-line. 1988 Woman 20 Feb. 13/2 Although Jenni seems to have the only official help-line in the country for battered husbands, there are other places where men can go for help. |
▸ help desk n. a service providing advice and assistance in a particular field (chiefly information technology), either for any interested party, or for employees within a particular company; the area or desk where such a service is based.
| 1980 Times 8 May 32/6 (advt.) Information Scientist required for Customer Service/*Help Desk Function to answer queries from European users. 1989 Precision Marketing 29 May 6/5 The helpdesk is designed to centralise the handling of certain pension enquiries from agencies and intermediaries as well as the public. 1995 Multimedia Today Apr.–June 25/1 Imagine how productive help desk staff would be if they could remotely logon to and take control of users' systems. 2001 D. Mitchell Number 9 Dream 376 Two identical receptionists at the helpdesk chime ‘Good morning’ in such angelic harmony that I am unsure which to speak to. |