helpmeet

English

Etymology

Univerbation of part of a phrase in Genesis 2:18 in the King James Version: “an helpe meet” for Adam (i.e. a helper suitable for him) (help +‎ meet).^[1]

Noun

helpmeet (plural helpmeets)

1. A helpful partner, particularly a spouse.

   Synonyms: helpmate; see also Thesaurus:spouse

   • 1839, The Friend's Intelligencer, volume 1, number 24, Eighth month 1st, 1839, article Friend's Discipline, pages 456–457:

     [on vocabulary errors] … and helpmates for meet-helps—the difference of the meaning of the two words is so obvious, that it is surprising it should have escaped attention.—A person may be a helpmate and at the same time be very far from being a help-meet, which is here intended.

   • 1953, James Baldwin, “Gabriel's Prayer”, in Go Tell It on the Mountain (Penguin Classics), London: Penguin Books, published 2001, →ISBN:

     When he went to Deborah and told her that the Lord had led him to ask her to be his wife, his holy helpmeet, she looked at him for a moment in what seemed to be speechless terror.

References

1. The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 1611, →OCLC, Genesis 2:18: “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him an helpe meet for him.”