relief

English has two nouns spelled relief: ease or help, from Old French relief, and the projection of a design from a surface, from Italian rilievo; both go back to Latin relevāre “to raise, lighten”, the source of relieve.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /rɪˈliːf/^[4]

relief¹ ease

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English releve, relefe,^[1][5] borrowed from Anglo-Norman relif, Old French relief “assistance”, literally “that which is lifted”,^[2][1][3] from the stressed stem of relever “to raise up, relieve”,^[2][6] from Latin relevāre “to raise again, lighten, alleviate”,^[1][6] the source of relieve.^[2][1] Barnhart also allows Medieval Latin relevium.^[1] The spelling relief began to appear about 1390.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A payment made to an overlord by an heir on taking possession of an estate: about 1330 in the OED, before 1338 in Barnhart, in Mannyng's Chronicle;^[7][1] about 1200 in Etymonline, also “that which is left over”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Ease or alleviation of distress is from probably about 1375 in Barnhart, 1390 in the OED, and the late 14th century in Etymonline.^[1][7][2] Aid to poor people is from about 1400,^[1][2] from the 19th century especially of assistance by governments,^[2] and the deliverance of a besieged town from about 1400.^[2] Release from duty by a replacement is from the 16th century,^[3] and an agreeable change, as of colour or mood, from 1712, as in comic relief.^[7] In Scotland the Relief Church was founded in 1761 by Thomas Gillespie and his followers, who seceded from the established church.^[5][8]

Timeline

• c. 1330 – a feudal payment.^[7]
• c. 1375 – ease of distress.^[1]
• c. 1400 – aid to the poor; relief of a siege.^[2]
• 16th century – release from duty.^[3]
• 1712 – an agreeable change.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A feeling of reassurance and ease after anxiety or pain has gone.
2. The easing or removal of pain or distress, or something that does this.
3. Help given to people in need, as food or money after a disaster.
4. Release from duty by a replacement, or the person who takes over.
5. The raising of a siege.
6. (law) The redress sought from a court.

relief² projection

Etymology

It is borrowed from French relief,^[2][1] or directly from Italian rilievo,^[1][3] from rilevare “to raise”, from Latin relevāre “to raise, lighten”.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

1606 in Barnhart, as releve, in Ben Jonson's Hymenaei;^[1] about 1600 in Etymonline;^[2] the spelling relief is from 1662.^[1]

Semantic evolution

In sculpture and architecture it is the projection of a figure or design from the flat surface on which it is formed.^[2] In physical geography the form of the land surface is from 1842, especially in relief map.^[2] Figuratively, in relief means standing out vividly by contrast.^[9][10]

Timeline

• 1606 – projection in sculpture.^[1]
• 1662 – the spelling relief.^[1]
• 1842 – in geography.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A method of sculpture in which figures project from a flat background, or a work made this way.
2. Variations in the height of the land, as shown on a map.
3. Vividness or prominence from contrast: thrown into relief.

Word family

• bas-relief

Related words

• relieve
• lever
• elevate

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins