Etymograph

English

aide

Aide comes from French aide ‘aide (person)’, from Old French aide ‘help’, and perhaps ultimately from Latin iuvō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiuvō1as iuvere‘to help, aid’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadiuvō2‘help, assist’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadiūtō3as adiutāre‘help, assist’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aidier4‘to help’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aide4‘help’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ayde4
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentaide5‘aide (person)’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1994aide5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin iuvo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin adiuto
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old French aidier
  4. 4 Wiktionary, French aide
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English aide
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1994, Herbert L. Abrams, The President Has Been Shot: Confusion: “The aide rides, along with the president's physician, in…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiuvōWiktionary, Latin iuvoas iuvere‘to help, aid’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadiuvōWiktionary, Latin adiuto‘help, assist’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadiūtōWiktionary, Old French aidieras adiutāre‘help, assist’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aidierWiktionary, French aide‘to help’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aideWiktionary, French aide‘help’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600aydeWiktionary, French aide
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentaideWiktionary, English aide‘aide (person)’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1994aideWiktionary, English aide. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1994, Herbert L. Abrams, The President Has Been Shot: Confusion: “The aide rides, along with the president's physician, in…”

Linked words

through Latin adiuvō ‘help, assist’

coadjutor, 9 more

through Latin adiūtō ‘help, assist’

jury, adjutant, 2 more

through Old French aidier ‘to help’

aid, 2 more

Today it means

noun An assistant.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “aide”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin iuvo, Latin adiuto, Old French aidier, French aide. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin iuvō / aide

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