I. ˈrēˌlā noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French relais, from relaier
1. : a supply arranged beforehand for successive relief: as
a. : a supply of hunting horses or dogs kept in readiness at certain places to continue the pursuit of game if it comes that way
b. : a supply of horses placed at stations to be ready to relieve others so that a traveler may proceed without delay ; also : the post or station at which the fresh supply is obtained
c. : a number of men who relieve others in carrying on some work : a relief gang
working in relays around the clock
2.
a. : relay race
b. : one of the legs or divisions of a relay race
c. relays plural : a track meet featuring relay races
3. : an electromagnetic device for remote or automatic control that is actuated by a variation in conditions of an electric circuit and that operates in turn other devices (as switches, circuit breakers) in the same or a different circuit
4. : servomotor
5. : the act of passing along (a message, a signal, a ball) by stages ; also : one of such stages
the shortstop's relay from center field was too late to catch the runner at the plate
6. : an arrangement by which water is pumped through two or more pumping engines in order to increase the pressure in a fire hose
7. : a bundle of relayed mail
8. : radio relay
II. “, rə̇ˈlā, rēˈ- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English relayen, from Middle French relaier, from Old French, from re- + laier to leave — more at delay
transitive verb
1.
a. : to place or dispose in relays
b. : to provide with relays
c. : to divide up (mail) into bundles each of which is to be placed in a storage box along a carrier's route to be picked up by him
2. : to pass along by relays
news was relayed to distant points
promised to relay my message
3. : to control or operate (as a circuit, a switch) by a relay
4. : to pump (water) through two or more pumping engines in order to increase the pressure in a fire hose
intransitive verb
1. : to obtain a fresh relay
gained time by relaying at each town
2. : to operate the contacts of a relay
III. (ˈ)rē+ transitive verb
Etymology: re- + lay (I)
: to lay again
the flagstones will have to be taken up and relaid
relaying several miles of track