different between comfort vs succour

English

Etymology

The verb is from Middle English conforten, from Old French conforter, from Late Latin confort? (“to strengthen greatly”), itself from Latin con- (“together”) + fortis (“strong”).

The noun is from Middle English confort, from Old French cunfort, confort, from the stem of Late Latin confort?. It replaced Old English frofor, Middle English frovre.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k?m.f?t/
• (Northern England) IPA^(key): /?k?m.f?t/
• (General American) enPR: k?m'f?rt, IPA^(key): /?k?m.f?t/, [?k???.f?t]
• (obsolete) enPR: k?mfôrt', IPA^(key): /k?m?f??t/

Noun

comfort (countable and uncountable, plural comforts)

1. Contentment, ease.

2. Something that offers comfort.

3. A consolation; something relieving suffering or worry.

4. A cause of relief or satisfaction.

Synonyms

• liss

Antonyms

• (contentment, ease): austerity

Translations

Verb

comfort (third-person singular simple present comforts, present participle comforting, simple past and past participle comforted)

1. (transitive) To relieve the distress or suffering of; to provide comfort to.
2. (transitive) To make comfortable. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
3. (obsolete) To make strong; to invigorate; to fortify; to corroborate.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Wyclif to this entry?)

   • 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie

     God's own testimony […] doth not a little comfort and confirm the same.

4. (obsolete) To assist or help; to aid.

Synonyms

• besoothe

Translations

Derived terms

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch confoort, from Old French confort.

Pronunciation

• (Netherlands) IPA^(key): /k?m?f??r/
• (Belgium) IPA^(key): /k?m?f?r(t)/
• Hyphenation: com?fort

Noun

comfort n (plural comforts, diminutive comfortje n)

1. Physical comfort, ease.

Derived terms

• comfortabel
• ligcomfort
• rijcomfort
• zitcomfort

English

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English socour [and other forms], which was erroneously treated as the singular form of socours (“aid, assistance, help; encouragement; support; remedy, relief; sustenance; military assistance or relief; protection, refuge; helper; protector”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman socurs, sucurs, and Old French secors, secours, socors, socorse (compare Anglo-Norman soccour, socur, succour, succur, variants of Old French secor; modern French secours (“aid, assistance, help”)), from Medieval Latin succursus (“act of succouring”), from Latin succurr?re, from succurr? (“to run to the aid of; to aid, help; to go under, run beneath; to undergo”), from sub- (prefix meaning ‘beneath, under’) + curr? (“to run; to hasten, hurry; to move, proceed, travel; to traverse”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *?ers- (“to run”)). The English word is cognate with Italian soccorso (“aid, assistance, help, succour”).

The verb is derived from Middle English socouren (“to aid, assist, help; to provide for one's needs, maintain, support; to assuage, relieve, remedy; to comfort; to provide military assistance; to rescue, save; to give refuge or shelter to; to defend, protect”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman socure [and other forms] (compare Middle French secourir, Old French succurir, sucurir (“to rescue; to remedy”); modern French secourir (“to help out; to succour”)), from Latin succurr?re; see further above. The English word is cognate with Italian soccorrere (“to assist, help”), Occitan secorrer, socorre, Portuguese socorrer (“to help, succour; to rescue”), Spanish socorrer (“to aid, assist, help, succour; to pay on account”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?s?k?/
• (General American) enPR: s?k?r, IPA^(key): /?s?k?/
• Homophone: sucker
• Hyphenation: suc?cour

Noun

succour (countable and uncountable, plural succours) (British spelling)

1. (uncountable) Aid, assistance, or relief given to one in distress; ministration.
2. (uncountable, military) Aid or assistance in the form of military equipment and soldiers, especially reinforcements sent to support military action.
3. (uncountable, obsolete except dialectal) Protection, refuge, shelter; (countable) a place providing such protection, refuge or shelter.

Alternative forms

• succor (American spelling)

Derived terms

• succourless, succorless (American spelling)
• unsuccoured, unsuccored (American spelling)

Translations

Verb

succour (third-person singular simple present succours, present participle succouring, simple past and past participle succoured) (British spelling)

1. (transitive) To give aid, assistance, or help.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:help

   Antonyms: see Thesaurus:hurt
2. (transitive, military) To provide aid or assistance in the form of military equipment and soldiers; in particular, for helping a place under siege.
3. (transitive, obsolete except dialectal) To protect, to shelter; to provide a refuge.

Conjugation

Alternative forms

• succor (American spelling)

Derived terms

• succourer, succorer (American spelling)

Translations

References