Avail vs Help - What's the difference?
avail | help |
(transitive, often, reflexive) To turn to the advantage of.
To be of service to.
To promote; to assist.
To be of use or advantage; to answer or serve the purpose; to have strength, force, or efficacy sufficient to accomplish the object.
* Sir Walter Scott
To provide; to make available.
* {{quote-news, 2004, November 16, Nik Ogbulie, Decongesting the Banking Floors, This Day
, passage=With this initiative, Valucard becomes an open system that is not limited to point of sale (POS) transactions, but now avails cash to its holders in various locations nationwide.}}
(lb) Benefit; value, profit; advantage toward success.
*:
*:I shal take the aduenture sayd Balen that god wille ordeyne me / but the swerd ye shalle not haue at this tyme by the feythe of my body / ye shalle repente hit within short tyme sayd the damoysel/ For I wold haue the swerd more for your auaylle than for myne / for I am passyng heuy for your sake
*, III.1:
*:hardy Citizenssticke not to sacrifice their honours and consciences, as those of old, their lives, for their Countries availe and safety.
*{{quote-book, 1895, (Andrew Lang),
, passage=So this friar, unworthy as he was of his holy calling, had me at an avail on every side, nor do I yet see what I could do but obey him, as I did.}}
Effect in achieving a goal or aim; purpose, use (now usually in negative constructions).
:
*
*:Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.
*2014 , , "
*:At half-time, Poyet replaced Wes Brown with Liam Bridcutt in the heart of defence and sent out the rest of the players to atone for their first-half mistakes. To no avail .
*(Richard Henry Stoddard) (1825–1903)
*:the avails of their own industry
Effort; striving.
*{{quote-book, 1613, (Thomas Campion), chapter=Songs of Mourning, , year_published=1907, page=125, title=
, passage=And ev'n now, though he breathless lies, his sails / Are struggling with the winds, for our avails / T'explore a passage hid from human tract, / Will fame him in the enterprise or fact.}}
An advertising slot or package.
*{{quote-book, 1994, Barry L. Sherman, page=353, title=
, passage=The salesperson at an affiliate TV station might prepare an avail which offers two weeks of spots in early and late news
*{{quote-book, 2004, Walter S. Ciciora et al., page=123, title=
, passage=At an avail , the ad server plays out the MPEG-2 audio/video elementary streams.}}
A press avail.
:
Non-binding notice of availability for work.
(lb) A readily available stock of oil.
*{{quote-book, 1967, title=
, passage=Total crude oil avails (production plus purchases) of even highly "self-sufficient" refiners are far greater than their reported refinery inputs.}}
(uncountable) Action given to provide assistance; aid.
(usually, uncountable) Something or someone which provides assistance with a task.
Documentation provided with computer software, etc. and accessed using the computer.
(usually, uncountable) One or more people employed to help in the maintenance of a house or the operation of a farm or enterprise.
(uncountable, euphemistic) Correction of deficits, as by psychological counseling or medication or social support or remedial training.
To provide assistance to (someone or something).
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=76, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= To contribute in some way to.
To provide assistance.
* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=19 * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=72-3, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= To avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can .
In transitive terms the difference between avail and help
is that avail is to promote; to assist while help is to avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can.In intransitive terms the difference between avail and help
is that avail is to be of use or advantage; to answer or serve the purpose; to have strength, force, or efficacy sufficient to accomplish the object while help is to provide assistance.As verbs the difference between avail and help
is that avail is to turn to the advantage of while help is to provide assistance to (someone or something).As nouns the difference between avail and help
is that avail is benefit; value, profit; advantage toward success while help is action given to provide assistance; aid.avail
English
Verb
(en verb)- I availed myself of the opportunity.
- Artifices will not avail the sinner in the day of judgment.
- (Alexander Pope)
- The plea in court must avail .
- ''This scheme will not avail.
- Medicines will not avail to halt the disease.
- Words avail very little with me, young man.
citation
Antonyms
* disavailDerived terms
* available * disavailNoun
(en noun)A Monk of Fife
Southampton hammer eight past hapless Sunderland in barmy encounter", The Guardian , 18 October:
Poetical Works (in English) of Thomas Campion
Telecommunications Management: Broadcasting/cable and the New Technologies, isbn=0070566984
Modern Cable Television Technology: Video, Voice, and Data Communications, isbn=1558608281
Interstate Compact on Oil and Gas (10th Extension), page=95
Usage notes
* (success or benefit) Very often encountered in negative phrases, such as of' or '''to''' '''no''' or '''little''' ' avail .help
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl), from (etyl) .Noun
(en-noun)- I need some help with my homework.
- He was a great help to me when I was moving house.
- I've printed out a list of math helps .
- I can't find anything in the help about rotating an image.
- The help is coming round this morning to clean.
- Most of the hired help is seasonal, for the harvest.
- His suicide attempts were a cry for help .
- He really needs help in handling customer complaints.
- ''"He's a real road-rager." / "Yup, he really needs help , maybe anger management."
Usage notes
The sense "people employed to help in the maintenance of a house" is usually an uncountable mass noun. A countable form - "a hired help''", "''two hired helps " - is attested, but now less common.Quotations
(English Citations of "help")Synonyms
* (action given to provide assistance) aid, assistance * (person or persons who provide assistance) * (person employed to help in the maintenance of a house)Derived terms
* cry for help * help desk * helpful * helpless * helpline * helply * helpmate * helpmeet * helpsome * home help * self-helpEtymology 2
From (etyl) helpen, from (etyl) . Cognate with (etyl) .Verb
Snakes and ladders, passage=Risk is everywhere.
citation, passage=As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and eager to help , and he stripped off his tunic at once.}}
A punch in the gut, passage=Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.}}