succor

[suhk-er]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR succor ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

help; relief; aid; assistance.

a person or thing that gives help, relief, aid, etc.

verb (used with object)

to help or relieve.

Also especially British, suc·cour.

Origin of succor

1250–1300; (v.) Middle English sucuren < Old French suc(c)urre, socorre < Latin succurrere to go beneath, run to help, equivalent to suc- suc- + currere to run (see current); (noun) Middle English soc(o)ur, back formation from sucurs (taken as plural) < Old French < Medieval Latin succursus, equivalent to Latin succur(rere) + -sus, var of -tus suffix of v. action

Related formssuc·cor·a·ble, adjectivesuc·cor·er, nounnon·suc·cor, nounun·suc·cor·a·ble, adjectiveun·suc·cored, adjective

Can be confusedsuccor sucker

Synonyms for succor

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR succor ON THESAURUS.COM

1, 3. support. 3. See help.

Usage note

See -or¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for succor

sustenance, aid, support, relief, help, comfort, mitigation, assistance, refuge, rescue

Examples from the Web for succor

Contemporary Examples of succor

Such attention comes too late to offer any succor or comfort to the families, friends, and co-workers mourning the dead.
Now Is Not the Time for New Gun Laws
Nick Gillespie
September 18, 2013
And if it is to truly heal, Palestinians and Israelis must make of the scar a source of succor, not fear.
On Yom Kippur, Remember My Palestinian Mother
Samer Badawi
September 10, 2013
The human soul is an ocean tossed by storms of passion, deep and bottomless in its need for succor and nourishment.
The Old Man and the Sea
David Farr
April 9, 2013
In contrast, a mammalian infant depends on the separation cry for succor and security.
Why Do We Cry?
Michael Trimble
January 10, 2013
Here's the platform the new Washington can succor: We want good schools, but don't fire bad teachers.
Give the People What They Want
Leslie H. Gelb
October 31, 2010

Historical Examples of succor

What are kings made for, save to succor the feeble and distressed?
Tanglewood Tales
Nathaniel Hawthorne
We slept five times instead of thrice and still no succor came.
The Long Labrador Trail
Dillon Wallace
She must have heard and have known that people were there, trying to succor her.
Fruitfulness
Emile Zola
They dashed after their new leader with only an instinct for shelter and succor.
Snow-Bound at Eagle's
Bret Harte
She was alone; he was hidden from the view of the men on the point, and no succor could come from them.
Devil's Ford
Bret Harte

Word Origin and History for succor

early 13c., from Anglo-French succors "help, aid," Old French sucurres, from Medieval Latin succursus "help, assistance," from past participle of Latin succurrere "run to help," from sub "up to" + currere "to run" (see current (adj.)). Final -s mistaken as a plural inflexion and dropped late 13c.