Offsider

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who acts as a helper in a professional or recreational context while maintaining a secondary role is referred to as an aide
2. Someone who supports another person by assisting with tasks or duties, often in a subordinate role
3. A person who acts alongside another to provide help and support, typically taking on a lesser or secondary position

Etymology: "Offsider" is an Australian and New Zealand word for a helper or assistant, especially someone who works alongside a principal in a trade or sport. It is built from "offside," the sporting and mechanical term for the side of a vehicle, horse, or machine nearest the road or the far side from the person working it, with the ordinary English suffix "-er" attached to name a person. The sense of "offside" in the source word points to the side of a cart or a team of animals facing away from the driver or handler, which is where an assistant would often stand or walk. Because the word is tied to that everyday working position, it reads as a plainly practical coinage rather than a term with a formal history. Its use is largely confined to Australian and New Zealand English, where it has stayed a familiar colloquial term for a mate who backs up the person in charge.

Synonyms: assistant, helper, partner, sidekick, aide

Antonyms: opponent, rival, adversary