succor

[ suhk-er ]

/ ˈsʌk ər /

noun

help; relief; aid; assistance.

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

verb (used with object)

to help or relieve.

Nearby words

succinite, succinylcholine, succinylcholine chloride, succinylcoenzyme a, succise, succor, succorance, succorrhea, succory, succos, succotash

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

SYNONYMS FOR succor

1, 3 support.

3 See help.

Related forms

suc·cor·a·ble, adjectivesuc·cor·er, nounnon·suc·cor, nounun·suc·cor·a·ble, adjective

un·suc·cored, adjective

Can be confusedsuccor sucker

Usage note

See -or¹.

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

Examples from the Web for succour

But transient indeed were their expectations of succour and assistance.
The Highlands of Ethiopia|William Cornwallis Harris
The poor victim of this pertinacious interrogatory now beat about within herself for succour.
Rhoda Fleming, Complete|George Meredith
They felt little regret at his fate, but every motive concurred to secure their affection and succour to me.
Ormond, Volume III (of 3)|Charles Brockden Brown
The rest died where they fell, with no kindly hand to give them succour, no British voice to breathe a burial prayer.
South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 1 (of 6)|Louis Creswicke

There were troops on their way to Holbeach, but it was not for succour.
It Might Have Been|Emily Sarah Holt

British Dictionary definitions for succour

succour

US succor

/ (ˈsʌkə) /

noun

help or assistance, esp in time of difficulty

a person or thing that provides help

verb

(tr) to give aid to

Derived Formssuccourable or US succorable, adjectivesuccourer or US succorer, nounsuccourless or US succorless, adjective

Word Origin for succour

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 (1 of 2)

succour

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

Word Origin and History for succour (1 of 2)

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.