different between assistance vs task

English

Alternative forms

• assistaunce

Etymology

From Middle English assistance, from Middle French assistance, from Medieval Latin assistentia, from Latin assist? (“I stand at”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??s?s.t?ns/

Noun

assistance (usually uncountable, plural assistances)

1. Aid; help; the act or result of assisting.

Derived terms

• public assistance

Translations

French

Etymology

From Late Latin assistentia.

Noun

assistance f (plural assistances)

1. assistance
2. audience

Derived terms

• assistance publique

Related terms

• assistant

Further reading

• “assistance” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English task, taske, from Old Northern French tasque, (compare Old French variant tasche), from Medieval Latin tasca, alteration of taxa, from Latin tax?re (“censure; charge”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /t??sk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /tæsk/
• Rhymes: -æsk

Noun

task (plural tasks)

1. A piece of work done as part of one’s duties.

   The employee refused to complete the assignment, arguing that it was not one of the tasks listed in her job description.

2. Any piece of work done.
3. A difficult or tedious undertaking.
4. An objective.
5. (computing) A process or execution of a program.

Usage notes

• Adjectives often applied to "task": difficult, easy, simple, hard, tough, complex, not-so-easy, challenging, complicated, tricky, formidable, arduous, laborious, onerous, small, big, huge, enormous, tremendous, gigantic, mammoth, colossal, gargantuan, social, intellectual, theological, important, basic, trivial, unpleasant, demanding, pleasant, noble, painful, grim, responsible, rewarding, boring, ungrateful, delightful, glorious, agreeable.

Synonyms

• (piece of work): chore, job
• (difficult undertaking): undertaking
• (objective): objective, goal
• (process): process

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

task (third-person singular simple present tasks, present participle tasking, simple past and past participle tasked)

1. (transitive) To assign a task to, or impose a task on.

   On my first day in the office, I was tasked with sorting a pile of invoices.

   • 1610, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, act 1 scene 2

     All hail, great master! grave sir, hail! I come / To answer thy best pleasure; be't to fly, / To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride / On the curl'd clouds, to thy strong bidding task / Ariel and all his quality.

   • c. 1693-1696, John Dryden, Last parting of Hector and Andromache: From the Sixth Book of Homer's Iliads

     There task thy maids, and exercise the loom.
2. (transitive) To oppress with severe or excessive burdens; to tax.
3. (transitive) To charge, as with a fault.

   • Too impudent to task me with those errors.

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

task

1. Alternative form of taisch

Anagrams

• AKST, Kast, KTAS, askt, kast, kats, skat