Etymologically
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relever

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁə.l(ə).ve/[1]

Forms

relever[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin relevō (“to lift up; to relieve, ease”), from re- and levō (“to lighten, raise”).[2][1][3][4][5] The Grand Robert analyses it as from French re- + lever, and Rey thinks both a French formation and the Latin verb may have played a part in the 11th and 12th centuries; the noun relief, from old forms such as “je relief”, shows that the verb was in use early.[6][7][8]

Compare Italian rilevare, Occitan relevar and Spanish relevar.[9][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) the knights sur lor piez releverent: to put back on one's feet.[10][4]

Semantic evolution

Wace (1155–74) uses it for picking something up from the ground, a sense surviving in relever le gant “to take up the challenge” and in a teacher collecting exercise books.[10][7] Putting back in good order (about 1175) gave technical uses such as relever un vaisseau (1680), and figuratively restoring someone's fortunes (1174) and relever le courage (1564).[10][7] At the end of the 14th century Froissart uses it for retorting sharply to someone, and in 1636 it means to point out, underline.[10]

Surveying gave relever un plan (1640) and taking a ship's bearing (1716), whence noting down in general (Chateaubriand, 1811), reading a meter (1890) and taking fingerprints (1952).[10] Raising upwards is from 1555 (Louise Labé), and in cooking relever a sauce is to spice it up.[10][1] Replacing a guard or a team gave the noun relève (1872).[2][3]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – “To put back on one's feet”, Chanson de Roland.[10]
  • 1160–74 – To pick up, Wace.[10]
  • 1174 – To restore (someone's fortunes).[10]
  • 1555 – To raise, Louise Labé.[10]
  • 1640 – Relever un plan, Oudin.[10]
  • 1811 – To note down, Chateaubriand.[10]
  • 1872 – The noun relève.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To pick up, help up, stand up again: relever un blessé, relever une chaise.[3][1]
  2. To restore, revive: relever l'économie, relever un mur.[3][1]
  3. To raise, lift; to turn up: relever la tête, relever son col; to increase (prices, wages).[1][10]
  4. To spice up, season: relever une sauce.[1]
  5. To notice, point out: relever une erreur; to react to (a remark).[1][10]
  6. To take down, note; to read (a meter): relever une adresse, relever le compteur.[1][10]
  7. To relieve (a sentry, a team); relever qqn de ses fonctions, to dismiss someone.[3][7]
  8. Relever de: to come under, be a matter for: cela relève de la justice; to be recovering from (an illness).[1][3]
  9. Se relever: to get up again; to recover.[1][3]

Word family

  • relevé
  • relève
  • relèvement
  • relevailles
  • relief

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 271b
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard