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Help vs Good - What's the difference?

help | good | Related terms |

In uncountable terms the difference between help and good

is that help is action given to provide assistance; aid while good is the abstract instantiation of goodness; that which possesses desirable qualities, promotes success, welfare, or happiness, is serviceable, fit, excellent, kind, benevolent, etc.

As an adjective good is

Of people.

As an interjection good is

that is good: an elliptical exclamation of satisfaction or commendation.

As an adverb good is

well; satisfactorily or thoroughly.

As a proper noun Good is

{{surname}.

help

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl), from (etyl) .

Noun

(en-noun)
  • (uncountable) Action given to provide assistance; aid.
  • I need some help with my homework.
  • (usually, uncountable) Something or someone which provides assistance with a task.
  • He was a great help to me when I was moving house.
    I've printed out a list of math helps .
  • Documentation provided with computer software, etc. and accessed using the computer.
  • I can't find anything in the help about rotating an image.
  • (usually, uncountable) One or more people employed to help in the maintenance of a house or the operation of a farm or enterprise.
  • The help is coming round this morning to clean.
    Most of the hired help is seasonal, for the harvest.
  • (uncountable, euphemistic) Correction of deficits, as by psychological counseling or medication or social support or remedial training.
  • 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.
    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-help

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) helpen, from (etyl) . Cognate with (etyl) .

    Verb

  • To provide assistance to (someone or something).
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=76, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Snakes and ladders , passage=Risk is everywhere.
  • To contribute in some way to.
  • To provide assistance.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=19 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.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=72-3, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= 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.}}
  • To avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can .
  • Usage notes
    * Use 3 is often used in the imperative mood as a call for assistance. * In uses 1, 2 and 3, this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . It can also take the bare infinitive with no change in meaning. * In use 4, can't help is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing) or, with but, the bare infinitive. * For more information, see
    Synonyms
    * (provide assistance to) aid, assist, come to the aid of, help out * (contribute in some way to) contribute to * (provide assistance) assist
    Derived terms
    * a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down * can't help * helper * helping * help oneself * help out

    good

    English

    (wikipedia good)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) good, from (etyl) . Related to gather.

    Alternative forms

    * (poetic contraction)

    Adjective

  • (lb) Of people.
  • #Acting in the interest of good; ethical.
  • #:
  • #*1891 , (Oscar Wilde), (The Picture of Dorian Gray) , Ch.6
  • #*:When we are happy, we are always good', but when we are ' good , we are not always happy.
  • #Competent or talented.
  • #:
  • #*(Robert South) (1634–1716)
  • #*:Those are generally good' at flattering who are ' good for nothing else.
  • #*{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Michael Arlen), title= “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days, chapter=3/19/2
  • , passage=Ivor had acquired more than a mile of fishing rights with the house?; he was not at all a good fisherman, but one must do something?; one generally, however, banged a ball with a squash-racket against a wall.}}
  • #Able to be depended on for the discharge of obligations incurred; of unimpaired credit.
  • #:
  • (lb)
  • #Useful for a particular purpose; functional.
  • #:
  • #*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= David Van Tassel], [http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/lee-dehaan Lee DeHaan
  • , title= Wild Plants to the Rescue , volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Plant breeding is always a numbers game.
  • #Effective.
  • #:
  • #*
  • #*:There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good , serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.
  • #(lb) Real; actual; serious.
  • #:
  • #*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • #*:Love no man in good earnest.
  • (lb) Of properties and qualities.
  • #(lb)
  • ##Edible; not stale or rotten.
  • ##:
  • ##Having a particularly pleasant taste.
  • ##:
  • ##* c. 1430' (reprinted '''1888 ), Thomas Austin, ed., ''Two Fifteenth-century Cookery-books. Harleian ms. 279 (ab. 1430), & Harl. ms. 4016 (ab. 1450), with Extracts from Ashmole ms. 1429, Laud ms. 553, & Douce ms. 55 [Early English Text Society, Original Series; 91], London: 374760, page 11:
  • #
    Soupes dorye. — Take gode almaunde mylke
  • ##* 1962' (quoting '''1381 text), (Hans Kurath) & Sherman M. Kuhn, eds., ''(Middle English Dictionary) , Ann Arbor, Mich.: (University of Michigan Press), , page 1242:
  • #
    dorr?̅', '''d?r?''' adj. & n. toste wyte bred and do yt in dischis, and ' god Almande mylk.
  • ##Being satisfying; meeting dietary requirements.
  • ##:
  • #Healthful.
  • #:
  • #Pleasant; enjoyable.
  • #:
  • #Favourable.
  • #:
  • #Beneficial; worthwhile.
  • #:
  • #*, chapter=22
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part.
  • #Adequate; sufficient; not fallacious.
  • #*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • #*:My reasons are both good and weighty.
  • (lb) With "and", extremely.
  • :
  • (lb) Holy.
  • :
  • (lb) Of quantities.
  • #Reasonable in amount.
  • #:
  • #Large in amount or size.
  • #:
  • #*
  • #*:The big houses, and there are a good many of them, lie for the most part in what may be called by courtesy the valleys. You catch a glimpse of them sometimes at a little distance from the [railway] line, which seems to have shown some ingenuity in avoiding them,.
  • #Entire.
  • #:
  • #*
  • #*:Athelstan Arundel walked home all the way, foaming and raging. No omnibus, cab, or conveyance ever built could contain a young man in such a rage. His mother lived at Pembridge Square, which is four good measured miles from Lincoln's Inn.
  • Synonyms
    * (having positive attributes) not bad, all right, satisfactory, decent * (healthful) well * (competent or talented) accomplished
    Antonyms
    * (having positive attributes) bad, poor * (ethical) bad, evil
    Derived terms
    * come from a good place * do well by doing good * fight the good fight * for good * good afternoon * good and * * good books * goodbye * good day * good drunk * gooden * good-for-nothing * good graces * good grief * goodish * good job * good morning * goodly * goodness * good night * good to go * good works * the good die young * too much of a good thing

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • That is good: an elliptical exclamation of satisfaction or commendation.
  • Good! I can leave now.

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) , all from the adjective.

    Adverb

  • (nonstandard) Well; satisfactorily or thoroughly.
  • * 1906 , Zane Grey, The Spirit of the Border: A Romance of the Early Settlers in the Ohio Valley
  • If Silvertip refuses to give you the horse, grab him before he can draw a weapon, and beat him good . You're big enough to do it.
  • * 2007 April 19, , WHYY, Pennsylvania [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9683874]
  • The one thing that we can't do...''is throw out the baby with the bathwater.''...'' We know our process works pretty darn good and, uh, it’s really sparked this amazing phenomenon of this''... high-quality website.
    Derived terms
    * but good

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) good, god, from (etyl) .

    Noun

  • (uncountable) The forces or behaviors that are the enemy of evil. Usually consists of helping others and general benevolence.
  • * , chapter=13
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them. Soft heartedness caused more harm than good .}}
  • (countable) A result that is positive in the view of the speaker.
  • (uncountable) The abstract instantiation of goodness; that which possesses desirable qualities, promotes success, welfare, or happiness, is serviceable, fit, excellent, kind, benevolent, etc.
  • * Bible, Psalms iv. 6
  • There be many that say, Who will show us any good ?
  • * Jay
  • The good' of the whole community can be promoted only by advancing the ' good of each of the members composing it.
  • (countable, usually in plural) An item of merchandise.
  • * (William Shakespeare)
  • Thy lands and goods / Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate / Unto the state of Venice.
    Antonyms
    * (forces of good) bad, evil * (positive result) bad
    Derived terms
    * (item of merchandise) capital goods, consumer goods

    Etymology 4

    From (etyl) goden, godien, from (etyl) .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To thrive; fatten; prosper; improve.
  • To make good; turn to good; improve.
  • To make improvements or repairs.
  • To benefit; gain.
  • To do good to (someone); benefit; cause to improve or gain.
  • To satisfy; indulge; gratify.
  • To flatter; congratulate oneself; anticipate.
  • Derived terms
    * (l)

    Etymology 5

    From English dialectal, from (etyl) , ultimately from the adjective. See above.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To furnish with dung; manure; fatten with manure; fertilise.
  • (Bishop Hall)
    Derived terms
    * (l)