relief English · revision 4594

+ 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]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /rɪˈliːf/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|ease}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1330|origins=la relevare}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|releve]], relefe,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|xno|relif]], Old French relief “assistance”, literally “that which is lifted”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from the stressed stem of relever “to raise up, relieve”,^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from Latin relevāre “to raise again, lighten, alleviate”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) the source of [[relieve]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart also allows Medieval Latin relevium.^(Barnhart 1988) The spelling relief began to appear about 1390.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==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;^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) about 1200 in Etymonline, also “that which is left over”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==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.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Aid to poor people is from about 1400,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from the 19th century especially of assistance by governments,^(Etymonline) and the deliverance of a besieged town from about 1400.^(Etymonline) Release from duty by a replacement is from the 16th century,^(Hoad 1986) and an agreeable change, as of colour or mood, from 1712, as in ''comic relief''.^(OED 1989) In Scotland the Relief Church was founded in 1761 by Thomas Gillespie and his followers, who seceded from the established church.^(MWU 2024)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1330 – a feudal payment.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1375 – ease of distress.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – aid to the poor; relief of a siege.^(Etymonline)

+ * 16th century – release from duty.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1712 – an agreeable change.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A feeling of reassurance and ease after anxiety or pain has gone.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The easing or removal of pain or distress, or something that does this.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Help given to people in need, as food or money after a [[disaster]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Release from duty by a replacement, or the person who takes over.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The raising of a [[siege]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(law)'' The redress sought from a court.^(AHD)

+

+ {{homograph|2|projection}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1606|origins=la relevare}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|relief]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) or directly [[der|it|rilievo]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from rilevare “to raise”, from Latin relevāre “to raise, lighten”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ 1606 in Barnhart, as releve, in Ben Jonson's Hymenaei;^(Barnhart 1988) about 1600 in Etymonline;^(Etymonline) the spelling relief is from 1662.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In sculpture and architecture it is the projection of a figure or design from the flat surface on which it is formed.^(Etymonline) In physical geography the form of the land surface is from 1842, especially in ''relief map''.^(Etymonline) Figuratively, ''in relief'' means standing out vividly by contrast.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1606 – projection in sculpture.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1662 – the spelling relief.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1842 – in geography.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A method of sculpture in which figures project from a flat background, or a work made this way.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Variations in the height of the land, as shown on a [[map]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Vividness or prominence from contrast: ''thrown into relief''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bas-relief]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[relieve]]

+ * [[lever]]

+ * [[elevate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}