helpmate

n.

A helper and companion, especially a spouse.

[Probably alteration of HELPMEET (influenced by MATE¹).]

WORD HISTORY   The existence of the synonyms helpmeet and helpmate is the result of an error compounded. God's promise to Adam in Genesis 2:18, as rendered in the King James version of the Bible (1611), was to give him “an help [helper] meet [fit or suitable] for him.” The poet John Dryden's 1673 use of the phrase “help-meet for man,” with a hyphen between help and meet, was one step on the way toward the establishment of the phrase “help meet” as an independent word. Another was the use of “help meet” without “for man” to mean a suitable helper, usually a spouse, as Eve had been to Adam. Despite such usages, helpmeet was not usually thought of as a word in its own right until the 19th century. Nonetheless, the phrase “help meet” probably played a role in the creation of helpmate, from help and mate, first recorded in 1715.

A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

n.

A wife, or bitter half.

    "Now, why is yer wife called a helpmate, Pat?"
        Says the priest.  "Since the time 'o yer wooin'
    She's niver [sic] assisted in what ye were at --
        For it's naught ye are ever doin'."
    
    "That's true of yer Riverence [sic]," Patrick replies,
        And no sign of contrition envices;
    "But, bedad, it's a fact which the word implies,
        For she helps to mate the expinses [sic]!"
                                                         Marley Wottel

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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a helpful partner
  Synonym: helpmeet

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - medhjælp, hjælper, ægtefælle

Nederlands (Dutch)
helper, echtgenote/ -noot

Français (French)
n. - époux, épouse, compagnon, compagne (arch)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Gefährte

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - σύντροφος (του) βίου

Italiano (Italian)
compagno

Português (Portuguese)
n. - ajudante (m) companheiro, esposo (m), esposa (f)

Русский (Russian)
помощник, подруга, супруг

Español (Spanish)
n. - buen compañero, esposo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - (med)hjälpare, kamrat och hjälp

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
助手, 配偶, 伴侣

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 助手, 配偶, 伴侶

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 협조자, 내조자, 배우자

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 協力者, 連れ合い

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) رفيق مساعد وبخاصه الزوجه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮בן/בת-זוג, שותפ/ה, עזר כנגדו/ה‬

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