succor

[suhk-er]

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

1, 3. support. 3. See help.

Usage note

See -or¹.

Examples from the Web for succoured

Historical Examples of succoured

Hierax was a benevolent person who succoured a race hated by Poseidon.
Myth, Ritual, and Religion, Vol. 1
Andrew Lang
I have failed others in the past whom I might have succoured.
The Romance of His Life
Mary Cholmondeley
It is true she succoured me when I was in sore need in Magdeburg.
The Mercenary
W. J. Eccott
The Spaniards had some pity, and succoured them with food on the way.
The Story of Siena and San Gimignano
Edmund G. Gardner
And then the weak who had to be succoured was so pretty, so charming, so sweet!
At His Gates, Vol. 2(of 3)
Margaret Oliphant

Word Origin and History for succoured

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.