Etymologically
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relief

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁə.ljɛf/[1]

Forms

relief m (plural reliefs)[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from relever, made on the old stressed forms of the verb such as “je relief”,[2][3][4][1][5] the verb being inherited from Latin relevō (“to raise again; to relieve”).[6][7] The sense “projection, relief” (1571) was influenced by Italian rilievo, from rilevare.[2][3][6] Littré explains the diphthong “ie” as a strengthening of the Latin stressed “e”.[7]

Spanish relieve and Portuguese relevo in the sense “relief” come from Italian.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) has Iluec paist l'um del relef de la table “there he is fed on the leftovers of the table”.[7][6][4]

Semantic evolution

In Old French relief was what is taken up from a served table, the leftovers (plural about 1320); the plural les reliefs “remains of a meal” is now literary (La Fontaine's reliefs d'ortolans).[4][3][7] In feudal law it was also the fee paid by an heir to take up a fief.[7][9]

From the 16th century, under Italian influence, it was a term of sculpture for work standing out from a flat ground (1547, 1571), whence bas-relief (1633) and haut-relief (1669).[10][6] In painting it is the appearance of depth given by light and shade (1577);[10] in geography it is the forms of the land surface;[11] and figuratively it is distinctness or prominence (mettre en relief, un caractère sans relief).[11][4] Relief acoustique (1908, 1934) is a sense of space in sound.[11][10]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Relef “leftovers” in Saint Alexis.[7]
  • 1547 – A term of sculpture, in Jean Martin.[10]
  • 1571 – Relief sculpture.[2]
  • 1577 – The relief of figures in a painting.[10]
  • 1633 – Bas-relief.[6]
  • 1669 – Haut-relief.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Relief, a projection from a surface: lettres en relief.[3][4]
  2. (sculpture) A relief: bas-relief, haut-relief.[3][11]
  3. (geography) The relief, the shape of the land surface: relief montagneux.[11][1]
  4. The appearance of depth: cinéma en relief.[3][11]
  5. Prominence, distinctness: mettre en relief: to highlight, sans relief: flat, dull.[11][1]
  6. (plural, literary) The leftovers of a meal: les reliefs du festin.[3][11]

Word family

  • bas-relief
  • haut-relief

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  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 d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 271b
  6. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  10. ^ a b c d e Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h 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