[re.lief] n [ME, fr. MF, fr. OF, fr. relever to relieve] (14c) 1: a payment made by a feudal tenant to a lord on succeeding to an inherited estate
2. a: removal or lightening of something oppressive, painful, or distressing b: welfare 2a c: military assistance to an endangered post or force d: means of breaking or avoiding monotony or boredom: diversion
3: release from a post or from the performance of duty
4: one that takes the place of another on duty
5: legal remedy or redress
6. [F] a: a mode of sculpture in which forms and figures are distinguished from a surrounding plane surface b: sculpture or a sculptural form executed in this mode c: projecting detail, ornament, or figures 7: sharpness of outline due to contrast "a roof in bold ~ against the sky" 8: the elevations or inequalities of a land surface 9: the pitching done by a relief pitcher "two innings of hitless ~"
[2]relief adj (1838) 1: providing relief
2: characterized by surface inequalities
3: of or used in letterpress