ayuda

Ayuda is a Spanish noun meaning help, aid, or assistance. It can refer to the act of helping someone or to resources provided to support a person, group, or cause. Common collocations include pedir ayuda (to ask for help), dar ayuda (to give aid), and recibir ayuda (to receive aid). It is used in a wide range of contexts: personal assistance, medical or social services, financial support, and humanitarian relief. In disaster response or international aid, the term ayuda often appears in phrases like ayuda humanitaria, ayuda financiera, and ayuda a refugiados.

Etymology and related terms: Ayuda comes from the verb ayudar (to help). The noun form uses the suffix -da. The verb ultimately derives from Latin adiuvare, meaning to aid or assist. Related terms include auxilio (aid or assistance, with nuance of urgent or emergency support) and socorro (assistance, relief). In legal and policy language, ayudas can denote specific benefits, subsidies, or waivers granted by institutions or governments, and may be categorized as social, economic, technical, or humanitarian.

Usage notes: In many Spanish-speaking regions, ayuda can be personal, financial, or institutional. The meaning is often clear from context, and the plural ayudas refers to multiple forms of assistance or multiple aid packages.