different between lackey vs helper

English

Alternative forms

• lacquey, lacky

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French laquais, which is probably (via Old Occitan lacai?) from Spanish lacayo, itself perhaps from Italian lacchè and Greek ????? (lakés), from Turkish ulak. Another possibility is through French, from Catalan alacay, from Arabic ??????????? (al-q???, “magistrate”). See French laquais.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?læ.ki/
• Rhymes: -æki

Noun

lackey (plural lackeys)

1. A footman, a liveried male servant.
   • 1820, Charles Maturin, Melmoth the Wanderer, volume 1, page 198:

     My dearest father,—I say nothing of them,—but I dare to speak of myself,—I can never be a monk,—if that is your object—spurn me,—order your lacqueys to drag me from this carriage,—leave me a beggar in the streets to cry “fire and water,”—but do not make me a monk.
2. A fawning, servile follower.

   Synonyms: lickspittle; see also Thesaurus:loyal follower

Derived terms

• lackey caterpillar
• lackey moth

Translations

Verb

lackey (third-person singular simple present lackeys, present participle lackeying, simple past and past participle lackeyed)

1. (transitive) To attend, wait upon, serve obsequiously.
   • ca. 1607, William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, Act I, sc. 3:

     [T]he ebbed man, ne'er loved till ne'er worth love,

     Comes deared by being lacked. This common body,

     Like to a vagabond flag upon the stream,

     Goes to and back, lackeying the varying tide,

     To rot itself with motion.

   • 1634, John Milton. Comus:

     So dear to Heav'n is Saintly chastity,

     That when a soul is found sincerely so,

     A thousand liveried Angels lacky her ...

2. (intransitive, obsolete) To toady, play the flunky.

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “lackey”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Anagrams

• Ackley

English

Etymology

From Middle English helpere, from Old English *helpere, from Proto-West Germanic *help?r? (“helper”), equivalent to help +? -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hälper (“helper”), West Frisian helper (“helper”), Dutch helper (“helper”), German Low German Helper (“helper”), German Helfer (“helper”), Danish hjælper (“helper”), Swedish hjälpare (“helper”), Icelandic hjálpar (“helper”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?h?lp?/

Noun

helper (plural helpers)

1. One who helps; an aide; assistant; auxiliary.
2. That which helps; anything serving to assist.
   • 2005, PC World (volume 23, page 158)

     While Adobe's Acrobat Reader, Macromedia's Flash player, and other common plug-ins suggest themselves the moment you encounter a site that requires them, other browser helpers are harder to find.

   • 2012, Jude Deveraux, The Mulberry Tree (page 84)

     He no longer liked food that had “helper” in the name, such as Hamburger Helper and Tuna Helper. Patsy said he'd become uppity, and maybe, when it came to food, he had.

   • 2014, Neale Blackwood, Advanced Excel Reporting for Management Accountants (page 154)

     If a particular calculation is to be used a few times, it makes sense to put it in a helper cell so that it can be referred to by other formulas.

3. (Singapore) A person who does cleaning and cooking in a family home, or in a market; domestic employee.
4. (rail transport, US) a locomotive that assists a train, usually on steep gradients.

Synonyms

• banker (locomotive)

Translations

Anagrams

• Hepler

Cebuano

Etymology

From English helper.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: hel?per

Noun

helper

1. a maid; a servant or cleaner
2. an aide

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch helpere. Equivalent to helpen +? -er.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???l.p?r/
• Hyphenation: hel?per

Noun

helper m (plural helpers, diminutive helpertje n)

1. One who helps, gives aid; deputy, assistant, aide, flunky

   Synonyms: assistent, hulp