assist

[uh-sist] /əˈsɪst/
verb (used with object)
1.
to give support or aid to; help:
Please assist him in moving the furniture.
2.
to be associated with as an assistant or helper.
verb (used without object)
3.
to give aid or help.
4.
to be present, as at a meeting or ceremony.
noun
5.
Sports.
  1. Baseball. a play that helps to put out a batter or base runner.
  2. Basketball, Ice Hockey. a play that helps a teammate in gaining a goal.
  3. the official credit scored for such plays.
6.
a helpful act:
She finished her homework without an assist from her father.
7.
Machinery. an electrical, hydraulic, or mechanical means of increasing power, efficiency, or ease of use:
a luxury automobile equipped with assists for brakes, steering, windows, and seat adjustment.
Origin
1505-15; < Latin assistere to stand by, help, equivalent to as- as- + sistere to (cause to) stand (si- reduplicative prefix + -ste- (variant of sta- stand) + -re infinitive suffix)
Related forms
assister; Chiefly Law, assistor, noun
assistive, adjective
nonassister, noun
overassist, verb
reassist, verb (used with object)
unassisted, adjective
unassisting, adjective
well-assisted, adjective
Synonyms
1. sustain, abet, befriend; back, promote. See help.
Antonyms
1. hinder, frustrate.
British Dictionary definitions for assist

assist

/əˈsɪst/
verb
1.
to give help or support to (a person, cause, etc); aid
2.
to work or act as an assistant or subordinate to (another)
3.
(hockey:Ice) to help (a team-mate) to score, as by passing the puck
4.
(archaic) (intransitive) foll by at. to be present; attend
noun
5.
(US & Canadian) the act of helping; aid; assistance
6.
(baseball) the act of a player who throws or deflects a batted ball in such a way that a team is enabled to put out an opponent
7.
(sport)
  1. a pass or other action by a player which enables another player to score a goal
  2. a credit given for such an action
Derived Forms
assister, noun
Word Origin
C15: from French assister to be present, from Latin assistere to stand by, from sistere to cause to stand, from stāre to stand
Word Origin and History for assist
v.

early 15c., from Middle French assister "to stand by, help, put, place, assist" (14c.), from Latin assistere "stand by, take a stand near, attend," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + sistere "take a stand, cause to stand," from PIE *siste-, reduplicated form of root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Related: Assisted; assisting. Medical assisted suicide attested from 1884.

n.

1570s, "an act of assistance," from assist (v.). In the sporting sense attested 1877 in baseball, 1925 in ice hockey.