/ ˈhelpmeɪt; NAmE / (also help·meet / ˈhelpmiːt/) noun
( formal or literary ) a helpful partner, especially a wife
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WORD ORIGIN
late 17th cent. (as helpmeet ): from a mistaken reading of Gen. 2:18, 20, where Adam's future wife is described as “an help meet for him” (i.e. a suitable helper for him). The variant helpmate came into use in the early 18th cent.