Definition aid
Etymology 1
Borrowed from French aide, from Old French eide, aide, from aidier, from Latin adiūtō, adiūtāre (“to assist, help”). Cognates include Spanish ayuda, Portuguese ajuda and Italian aiuto
Noun
aid (countable and uncountable, plural aids)
- (uncountable) Help; assistance; succor, relief.
- (countable) A helper; an assistant.
- (countable) Something which helps; a material source of help.
- (countable, Britain) An historical subsidy granted to the crown by Parliament for an extraordinary purpose, such as a war effort.
- (countable, Britain) An exchequer loan.
- (countable, law) A pecuniary tribute paid by a vassal to his feudal lord on special occasions.
- (countable) An aide-de-camp, so called by abbreviation.
Etymology 2
From Middle English aiden, from Old French eider, aider, aidier, from Latin adiuto, frequentative of adiuvō (“"assist"”, verb).
Verb
aid (third-person singular simple present aids, present participle aiding, simple past and past participle aided)
- (transitive) To (give) support (to); to further the progress of; to help; to assist.