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succor

[suhk-er]
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noun
  1. help; relief; aid; assistance.
  2. a person or thing that gives help, relief, aid, etc.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to help or relieve.
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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

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1, 3. support. 3. See help.

Usage note

See -or1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for succour

Historical Examples

  • It did her, for the time, the good of having him to think of and to succour.

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

  • No, no; there could be no succour for a spot supposed to be empty and closed.

    The Channings

    Mrs. Henry Wood

  • All hope was gone, and nothing was thought of but succour from abroad.

  • They know that at the cry of their distress England and America will rush to their succour.

    Ireland as It Is

    Robert John Buckley (AKA R.J.B.)

  • He pledged to give half of all he had in the world to any who should succour her.

    Luttrell Of Arran

    Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for succour

succour

US succor

noun
  1. help or assistance, esp in time of difficulty
  2. a person or thing that provides help
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verb
  1. (tr) to give aid to
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Derived Formssuccourable or US succorable, adjectivesuccourer or US succorer, nounsuccourless or US succorless, adjective

Word Origin

C13: from Old French sucurir, from Latin succurrere to hurry to help, from sub- under + currere to run
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for succour

chiefly British English spelling of succor (q.v.); for spelling, see -or.

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succor

n.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper