Etymologically
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assist

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 02:14. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /əˈsɪst/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English assisten, borrowed from Middle French assister (“to stand by, help”),[2][3][4] from Latin assistere (“to stand by, take a stand near, attend”), from ad- (“to”) and sistere (“to take a stand, cause to stand”), related to stāre “to stand”.[2][3][4] It is related to stand, consist, insist and resist.[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To help or give support: 1426 in Barnhart, in the Proceedings of the Privy Council, the early 15th century in Etymonline.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century it also meant to stand near or attend someone,[6][7] and in 1626 it took on the sense “to be present” at a ceremony or entertainment, after French assister à, now archaic.[6][8] The noun, an act of help, is from 1597, the 1570s in Etymonline,[6][2] and is now chiefly American.[9] In sport an assist is a player's help in putting out an opponent or scoring: in baseball from 1877, and in ice hockey from 1925.[2]

Timeline

  • 1426 – to help.[3]
  • 1597 – noun, an act of help.[6][3]
  • 1626 – to be present at.[6]
  • 1877 – in baseball.[2]
  • 1925 – in ice hockey.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To help someone or something; to aid.
  2. To work as an assistant to someone.
  3. (archaic) To be present at an event.

Noun

  1. (chiefly US) An act of help.
  2. (sports) An action, such as a pass, that helps a teammate to score or to put out an opponent.

Word family

  • assister
  • assistive
  • unassisted
  • overassist
  • power assist

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press