Aide

How to spell aide

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce aide

What does aide mean?

1. nounA person who acts as an assistant, especially to a senior official or leader.

Aide in a sentence

• The senator sent a trusted aide to brief the reporters.

• A nursing aide checked on each patient through the night.

Where does aide come from?

Language of origin: French

This word comes straight from French, where 'aide' means a helper or assistant and derives from the verb 'aider', meaning 'to help'. That verb traces back to the Latin 'adiutare', a strengthened form of 'iuvare', meaning 'to help or assist'. English already had the noun 'aid' (assistance) from the same French and Latin source, but in the 1700s English borrowed the French form 'aide' specifically to name a PERSON who helps, especially in the military phrase 'aide-de-camp', literally 'helper of the camp'. Over time 'aide' settled into general use for any assistant to an important figure, such as a politician or executive. The kept final 'e', which feels redundant in English, is the giveaway of its French origin and the very thing that distinguishes the helper 'aide' from the abstract help of 'aid'.

How the word is built

• aide (French: helper, from aider 'to help')

Words that sound like aide

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• aid: Help or assistance given to someone in need.