assistance
/əˈsɪstəns/uh-SIH-stuhns
/əˈsɪstəns/uh-SIH-stuhns
Meaningthe act or result of standing by
Common meaning: the act or result of assisting
- asto, towards
- sistto cause to stand, setLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1711 · scan
- ancenoun ending: doing, or the condition that results
‘to, towards’ + ‘to cause to stand, set’ → assistance
Journey through time
- Latinsistō, stitī‘to cause to stand, set’
- Frenchassister
- Englishassist‘to help’
- Englishformed in English from assistassistance‘the act or result of assisting’ · today
Sources & notes
Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: the act or result of standing by. It can be inferred from any of: assist.
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from assist + -ance (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).
Roots
- sistō, stitī Latin “to cause to stand, set”
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app