These words refer to an act that one person performs for another. Of these, help is the most informal; it is also sharply separated from most of the others in implying a more desperately needed item than they suggest. Succour is similar in meaning to help but is more formal and restricted in its use. It can denote military reinforcement or help but has always had special connotations of that help or refuge given to someone incapacitated, ill or in need of spiritual uplift: succour for the besieged garrison; those wonderful workers who offer succour for the infirm and aged in our community. Assistance and aid only contribute to what one can do for himself, but a person in need of help may be literally helpless, that is, in danger or trouble. Help also necessarily connotes generosity or charity, something given out of kindness or pity, whereas assistance can be something purchased.

• I was flat broke in a strange town with nowhere to turn for help ; To the very last days of the siege, they never gave up hope that help would soon arrive.

The element of urgency in this use is not, however, invariably present in other uses. Help may, for example, merely refer to the lesser part of a shared task: While she did most of the cooking, her daughters were of some help , however small. In this use, it approaches the meanings most commonly implied in aid or assistance .

Aid is slightly more formal than help, assistance more formal still. Aid is particularly used in combination: state aid to church schools; foreign aid ; first aid ; visual aid . It can also be used for situations of emergency or danger: The stricken ship sent an SOS for immediate aid . In some cases where the use of help suggests itself, aid might sound unnecessarily stiff: Thank you for your aid . Assistance , unlike aid , would more rarely be used for urgently needed help , but it is an acceptable and more formal substitute for help when referring to the subordinate part of a shared task: A surgeon’s success depends on the expert assistance of very nurse and orderly who attends him.

The relationship between support and service is somewhat like that between help and aid . Both may imply a subordinate task, but support suggests one more vitally needed, service one that may give added comfort but remains optional in nature. Support may suggest an advisory role, one primarily of giving encouragement, or one that consists of standing behind and defending someone in danger.

• I don’t know how to change a flat tyre, but I can give you moral support ; The Ordnance Corps gives front-line support to the infantry; Though a husband and wife have separated, he is still legally responsible for her support .

Service often implies a convenience that may be purchased: domestic service ; telephone-answering service ; laundry service . On the other hand, it may suggest a gratuitous benefit gained with the purchase of something else: We offer free parking as still another service to our patrons.

Relief has more in common with support than with service , but it perhaps connotes more urgency than any of these words: if he could only stay afloat another day, he was certain that relief would be in sight. It is used also to refer to government aid for the indigent: If you can’t support your family, you can at least apply or relief .