RELIEF


Meaning of RELIEF in English

I. ri-ˈlēf noun

Etymology: Middle English relef, relief, from Anglo-French from relever to relieve

Date: 14th century

1. : a payment made by a male feudal tenant to his 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.

[French, from Middle French, from Italian rilievo relievo]

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.

a. : sharpness of outline due to contrast

a roof in bold relief against the sky

b. : the state of being distinguished by contrast

throws the two opinions into bold relief

8. : the elevations or inequalities of a land surface

9. : the pitching done by a relief pitcher

two innings of hitless relief

[

relief 6b

]

II. adjective

Date: 1838

1. : providing relief

2. : characterized by surface inequalities

3. : of or used in letterpress

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.