assistências

Assistências is the plural form of assistência in Portuguese. The noun denotes the act of helping, aiding, or providing support, and can refer to a service or program that delivers that help. The word derives from Latin assistentia, from assistere, meaning to stand by or to attend. In everyday language, assistências can be used to describe both concrete acts of aid and organized services.

In everyday language, assistências appear in contexts such as assistência médica (medical assistance), assistência social (social services), assistência técnica (technical support), and other forms of aid. They may be provided by public agencies, private companies, or nonprofit organizations. The term also appears in expressions like assistência ao cliente (customer support) and assistência humanitária (humanitarian aid).

In sports, especially football (soccer) and basketball, assistências describe the action that directly leads to a goal or score. In Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese alike, an assist is attributed to the player who supplies the last pass or move that creates the scoring opportunity. The exact criteria vary by competition, and some definitions exclude assists arising from deflections, own goals, or controversial plays.

Beyond sport, assistências reflect organized support systems as well as everyday acts of help, spanning medical care, social welfare, customer service, and humanitarian relief. The term thus covers both the provision of aid and the statistical credit given for it in sports.