Word of the Day for Wednesday March 22, 2006 succor \SUH-kuhr\, noun: 1. Aid; help; assistance; especially, assistance that relieves and delivers from difficulty, want, or distress. 2. The person or thing that brings relief. transitive verb: 1. To help or relieve when in difficulty, want, or distress; to assist and deliver from suffering; to relieve. In Asakusa, a crowd sought succor around an old and lovely Buddhist temple, dedicated to Kannon, goddess of mercy. -- Richard B. Frank, [1]Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire Ever since I was five, I have inserted myself into every movie I've seen and gratefully, humbly found succor there. -- Laurie Fox, [2]My Sister from the Black Lagoon There was some talk about the perils of the sea, and a landsman delivered himself of the customary nonsense about the poor mariner wandering in far oceans, tempest-tossed, pursued by dangers, every storm blast and thunderbolt in the home skies moving the friends by snug firesides to compassion for that poor mariner, and prayers for his succor. -- Mark Twain, "Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion," [3]The Atlantic, November 1877 He honors the old, succors the infirm, raises the downtrodden, destroys fanaticism. -- Alan Jolis, [4]Love and Terror _________________________________________________________ Succor derives from Latin succurrere, "to run under, to run or hasten to the aid or assistance of someone," from sub-, "under" + currere, "to run." References 1. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0141001461/ref=nosim/lexico 2. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684855380/ref=nosim/lexico 3. http://www.theatlantic.com/ 4. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0871137151/ref=nosim/lexico Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=9&q=succor