▪ I. relieve, n.
obs. variant of relief2 and relief3.
▪ II. relieve, v.
(rɪˈliːv)
Forms: 4–6 releue, -leve, (5 -levy-e, -levyn, Sc. -lewe), 4–7 releeue, -leeve, -lieue, (5 -lyeve), 6–7 releiue, -ve, 4– relieve; 5–6 relyue, -ve, 6–7 reliue, -ve; Sc. and north. 5 relef(e, -leff(e, -leef(e, 5–6 releife, 5–7 releif, (5 -ff), 6 relyf; 5 raleiff, 6 -lef.
[ad. OF. relever (11th c.), ad. L. relevāre to raise again, assist, etc., f. re- re- + levāre f. levis light (cf. relevate and elevate). The more etymological senses of the word are in Eng. somewhat later, and less usual, than the secondary.]
I. trans.
1. a. To raise (a person) out of some trouble, difficulty, or danger; to rescue, succour, aid or assist in straits; to deliver from something troublesome or oppressive. Now somewhat rare.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 323 Þou schal releue me renk, whil þy ryȝt slepez, þurȝ myȝt of þy mercy. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 592 [The Jews] hopen þat he be to come þat shal hem releue. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 206 Releeve the porail fro fals oppressioun Of tyrannye. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxii. 28 Ȝour legis quhy will ȝe nocht releif, And chereiss eftir thair degre? 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 113 God..sall releue All Israel of thair distres. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. iii. iv. 395 This youth..I snatch'd one halfe out of the iawes of death, Releeu'd him with such sanctitie of loue. 1632 Lithgow Trav. iii. 100 Vpon the fourth day..there came Fisher-boates to relieue vs. 1719 Waterland Vind. Christ's Div. 195 You are straining hard for some odd, peculiar Sense of the word,..and if this does not relieve you, all is lost. 1813 Byron Giaour viii, The rock relieves him from mine eye. 1836 J. Gilbert Chr. Atonem. viii. (1852) 228 No ingenuity, how subtle so ever, can relieve the case from the difficulty. 1841 Elphinstone Hist. Ind. II. 131 Who had called in the aid of the king of that country to relieve him from the control of Shir Khán. |
| absol. c 1366 Chaucer A.B.C. 6 Help and releeue, þou mihti debonayre. 1677 Owen On Justif. ix. Wks. 1851 V. 222 It is said that this [argument] will not relieve; for [etc.]. |
† b. To assist or succour in battle.
Obs.| 1375 Barbour Bruce xi. 347 The kyng, that behynd thaim was, Suld..relief thaim with his baneir. c 1400 Destr. Troy 9737 Mayntene youre manhode & your men helpe, Faris into fight your folke to releue. c 1500 Lancelot 3200 Wondir well thai have in armys prewit, And with thar manhed oft thar folk relewit. 1640 tr. Verdere's Rom. of Rom. i. 85 [They] could not relive them, being too far engaged in their combat. |
c. To bring assistance to (a besieged town, etc.); to free from siege. (
Cf. relief n.2 4 b.)
| 1586 Earl of Leicester Corr. (Camden) 259 If he take it [Berges] not in 2 dayes..I will warrant we will reliue it well enough. 1617 Moryson Itin. ii. 148 The Spaniards attempted againe to relieue the Castle. a 1671 Ld. Fairfax Mem. (1699) 82 Soon after Prince Rupert came to relieve the Town We raised the siege. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. xxxi. III. 259 Arles..must have yielded to the assailants, had not the city been unexpectedly relieved by the approach of an Italian army. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii. III. 228 Kirke had arrived from England with troops, arms. ammunition, and provisions, to relieve the city. 1874 Green Short Hist. v. §1. 221 It was not till Philip had failed to relieve it that the town was starved into surrender. |
d. Law. To free or clear (one) from an obligation; to give (one) legal relief. Also
absol.| 1562 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 221 The said William Gordoun [shall be] oblist to releve his said souerte. 1616 in Cary Rep. Chancery (1650) 134 Where their case deserveth to be relieved in course of Equity by suit in our Court of Chancery, they should not be abandoned. 1670 Modern Rep. (1682) I. 305 You relieve against them, and look upon them to be void. Ibid. 306 What if two of the Trustees had died, should she never have married? Surely you would have relieved her. 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 845 If one of two co-obligants..pay the whole debt, he is entitled to be relieved to the extent of the other's share. Ibid., The obligation to relieve holds in those cases [etc.]. |
| refl. 1655 tr. Sorel's Com. Hist. Francion viii. 28, I will obtain therefore Letters Patents sealed with the great Seal to relieve my self, because I have consented to give six Souses for that which is worth but four. |
2. a. To assist (the poor or needy) by gifts of money or necessary articles; to help in poverty or necessity. (
Cf. relief2 3.)
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints vi. (Thomas) 224 Þe apostile..vith þat tresoure he had tane, pouer men relewit mony ane. c 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 136 Alle suche pepille..she releued and comforted with almesse. 1491 Act 7 Hen. VII, c. 22 Preamble, Suche as have no goodes they may comme heder and be releved. 1586 Earl of Leicester Corr. (Camden) 378 He hath had 4,000 florins in monie of me, beside other helps, and, as I am able, I will reliue him. 1653 Holcroft Procopius, Goth. Wars i. 30 There being no means to releive them; Belisarius..appointed them a daily pay. 1690 Child Disc. Trade 73 The Poor..will be immediately relieved or set on work where they are found. 1737 Pope Hor. Epist. ii. i. 226 Behold the hand that wrought a Nation's cure, Stretch'd to relieve the Idiot and the Poor. 1795 Act 36 Geo. III, c. 23 §4 All such..Poor..Persons shall be provided for and relieved in..the same Manner as before the..passing of this Act. 1864 Spectator 31 Dec. 1489 Lord Wharncliffe's proposal to relieve the Confederate prisoners in the Northern prisons. |
| absol. 1732 Pope Ep. Bathurst 269 Is any sick? the Man of Ross relieves. 1813 Shelley Q. Mab iii. 159 Withered [is] the hand outstretched but to relieve. |
| fig. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 128 Now hadde the tempre sonne al that releuyd And clothede hym in grene al newe a-geyn. |
† b. To assist
with provisions or munitions of war; to furnish
with fresh troops. Also, to renew the stock of (ammunition).
Obs.| 1375 Barbour Bruce iv. 456 On this wiss Iames of Douglas,..War weill releyit [v.r. relewyt] with armyng, With vittale als, and with clething. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 255 That he geueth them free and safe recourse throughe hys countrey, and releeue them with victualles. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 366 All the Hauens and Portes..were relieued wyth men of armes and archers. 1588 Sir J. Hawkins in Laughton Def. Sp. Armada (1894) I. 359 We spent a great part of our powder and shot, so as it was not thought good to deal with them any more till that was relieved. |
| refl. 1601 in T. Stafford Pac. Hib. ii. iv. 150 The Rebels..doe releeue themselves with such warlicke provisions as they need. |
† c. To provide or furnish
with something.
Obs.—1| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xl. (Ninian) 161 He can hym ma bischope with his handis twa..& with relykis cane hym releife. |
† d. To feed; to supply with food or nourishment.
Obs.| c 1410 Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) i, In the euetyde when thei be releued; in the moruetyde when thei sitte in forme. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. xii. 375 Til the lamb be strengthed to pasture, Hym first and last his modir mylk releue. 1590 Cokaine Treat. Hunting C ij, Your Hunts⁓man..must be very careful that if any of his hounds bee missing, he keepe somewhat to relieue them withall. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World ii. (1634) 222 They reserved them, both for the milke to releeve the children withall, and for breed to store themselves. |
† e. intr. Of a hare: To feed.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1575 Turberv. Venerie 168 An Hare hath greater sent..when she feedeth and relieueth vpon greene corne, then at any other time of the yere. |
3. a. To ease or free (a person, the mind, etc.) from sorrow, fear, doubt, or other source of mental discomfort.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 1042 And eek, the bet from sorwe him to releve, She made him were a pencel of hir sleve. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 45 Bot so was I nothing relieved, For I was further fro my love. 15.. Frutefull Treatyse title-p., Howe they are to be releved and comforted, whose deare frendes ar departed out of thys worlde. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 714 King Edward..was releeued of the most part, of his pricking feare, and inwarde suspicion. 1610 Shakes. Temp. Epil. 16 My ending is despaire, Vnlesse I be relieu'd by praier. 1671 Milton Samson 460 This only hope relieves me, that the strife With me hath end. 1746 Wesley Princ. Methodist 50 To think or say, ‘There are Demoniacks now, and they are now reliev'd by Prayer’, is Enthusiasm. 1801 Lusignan IV. 110 Relieve me, I conjure you, from this cruel incertitude! 1847 Prescott Peru (1850) II. 336 There was one..who relieved his bosom by revealing the whole plot to his confessor. 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. xxvii. 390 Proofs which should relieve my mind of all doubt upon the subject. |
b. To give (a person, part of the body, etc.) ease or relief from physical pain or discomfort. Also
refl., to defecate or urinate, and
fig.| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxviii. (Adrian) 115 Þe tyme cumis..quhene nane sal vthir relefe,..as for to les þame of þar payne. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Visitation of Sick 141 O Lorde..beholde, visite, and releue this thy seruaunte. 1562 Turner Herbal ii. 108 Peares..rosted or sodden, relefe and lighten the stomak. 1595 Shakes. John v. vii. 45 O, that there were some vertue in my teares, That might releeue you! 1746 Hervey Medit. (1818) 80 As a spacious field arrayed in cheerful green, relieves and re⁓invigorates the eye. 1842 A. Combe Physiol. Digestion (ed. 4) 368 Where..the bowels are unable to act sufficiently to relieve the system. 1857 Buckle Civiliz. I. xiv. 825 It is even possible to relieve a function while we continue to employ it. 1931 S. Tremayne Trial A. A. Rouse 184, I wanted to relieve myself. 1952 Bible (Rev. Standard Version) I Sam. xxiv. 3 And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. 1956 H. Gold Man who was not with It (1965) xii. 99 There's a stomach ache of music..; it churns and stretches, trying to relieve itself. 1960 V. Nabokov Invitation to Beheading xiv. 141 The bliss of relieving oneself, which some hold to be on a par with the pleasure of love. 1961 Encounter Feb. 25/1 It [sc. a kitten] learned to go down into the alley to relieve itself in the dirt there. 1977 Sunday Times 30 Jan. 30/3, I urgently wished to be alone to relieve myself (a serious problem in winter orienteering). |
c. To widen or open up; to ease (some mechanical device) by making slacker or wider.
| 1824 P. Hawker Shooting (ed. 3) 8 There are two good ways of boring; the one is, to form a cylinder for about three-fourths of the barrel, and let the remaining part be gradually relieved to the muzzle. 1846 Holtzapffel Turning II. 586 The principle of chamfering, or relieving the taps, must not..be carried to excess. |
4. a. To ease or mitigate (what is painful or oppressive); to render less grievous or burdensome.
| c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 13 So leyde I me downe my dyssese to releue. c 1500 Lancelot 3364 Al perell, al harmys, and myschef, In tyme of ned he can tham al ralef. 1567 Satir. Poems Reform. vi. 114 Set your cure For till relief the greit penuritie Off laubouraris. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. ii. iv. 4 That old and anticke song we heard last night, Me thought it did releeue my passion much. 1630 R. Brathwait Eng. Gentlem. 149 Would you further the poore mans cause, and see his wrongs releeved? 1660 Blount Boscobel ii. (1680) 32 Glad to releive the necessities of nature with a messe of milk. 1729 Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 70 The final cause of compassion is much more to relieve misery. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. l. V. 197 A wealthy and generous citizen, who relieved the distress of famine. 1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xx. 234 Chronic cough and long-continued congestion..were more effectually relieved by the use of sulphureous waters. a 1862 Buckle Civiliz. (1873) III. v. 308 To relieve poverty increases it, by encouraging improvidence. |
b. To make less tiring, tedious, monotonous, or disagreeable, by the introduction of variety or of something striking or pleasing.
| 1771 Junius Lett. xlix. (1788) 269, I mean now and then to relieve the severity of your morning studies. 1782 G. Stuart Hist. Scot. vi. II. 211 He relieved..the cares of ambition with the smiles of beauty. 1817 Coleridge Biog. Lit. (Bohn) 282 The ingredients too are mixed in the happiest proportion, so as to uphold and relieve each other. 1837 Disraeli Venetia i. vi, Large black eyes which..agreeably relieved a face..somewhat shy and sullen. 1869 J. Martineau Ess. II. 303 No great work relieved the barrenness of the time. |
5. a. Chiefly
Sc. To set free, release. Now
rare.
| 1554–9 Songs & Ball. Phil. & Mary (Roxb.) 3 The rawnsom for ower synns, wherby we ware relyfft. 1572 Morton in 3rd Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. 418/2 The Maister of Forbes..is sa straitlie deteneit captive as upoun na band can he be gottin relevit. a 1657 Sir W. Mure Sonn. iv, I expected grace, To snair myselfe in hope to be reliued. 1684 Wood Life (O.H.S.) III. 103 Mr. Sheldon, who would..releive severall of his books that were then pawned for ale. 1774 Maclaurin Argt. & Decis. Remark. Cases 33 A tuilzie or rixa, in which they mixed themselves to relieve a youth in the defunct's grips. 1815 Burney Falconer's Dict. Marine s.v. Reliever, It is used, on searching a gun, to relieve one or other of the springs of the searcher that may have hitched into the cavity. |
b. spec. To release (one) from guard, watch, or other duty by becoming or providing a substitute.
| 1601 Holland Pliny I. 427 How late soever he sat up..overnight, he would be sure to relieve the morning watch & sentinell. 1684 tr. Siege Luxembourg 9 The Besieged (at the time we went to releive the Trenches) set Fire to the Houses. 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 10 At Six, being reliev'd by the Master, he could not see the Commodore's Light. 1823 F. Clissold Ascent Mt. Blanc 20 A most laborious employment, in which the guides relieved each other every ten minutes. 1852 Thackeray Esmond i. iv, Her dependants one after another relieved guard..and took the cards turn about. 1856 Reade Never too Late xi, In an hour another turnkey came and relieved Hodges. |
| absol. 1788 J. May Jrnl. & Lett. (1873) 96 In rowing we relieved regularly and frequently. |
c. To set (one) free
from, to ease (one)
of, any task or burden. Also,
euphem., to dismiss
from a position, to deprive
of membership.
| 1671 Milton Samson 5 When any chance Relieves me from my task of servile toyl. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xxii, Let me relieve you of that bundle. 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India I. 295 General Sir Samuel Auchmuty relieved General Hewett from his duty. 1875 ‘Mark Twain’ in Atlantic Monthly June 733/1 He was ‘relieved’ from duty when the boat got to New Orleans. Somebody expressed surprise at the discharge. 1952 E. O'Neill Moon for Misbegotten iii. 111 He relieves her of the pitcher and tumblers as she comes down the steps. 1972 Newsweek 10 Jan. 11/3 Its present chief..has expelled some 3,000 members (Lascorz was relieved of his membership during a previous clean-up in 1969). |
d. To replace (a dish) by another.
rare.
| 1741 tr. D'Argens' Chinese Lett. xxv. 183 These Dishes are relieved by others, twenty or twenty-four times. 1824 Byron Juan xv. lxiii, Relieved with ‘dindon à la Parigeux’. |
II. † 6. a. To lift or raise up again.
Obs.| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xviii. 141 And þat deth doun brouȝt deth shal releue. c 1450 Merlin 214 Whan the saisnes saugh Sonygreux at erthe, thei..pressed to releve the kynge Sonygreux. c 1477 Caxton Jason 124 The king Eson..releued her and leyde her on a bed that was there. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon xx. 56 He knelyd downe..but Huon releuyd hym incontynent. 1575 Chr. Prayers in Priv. Prayers (1851) 441 Adam, being tumbled down..into the dungeon of shame, was releved and lift up again by thy hand, O Saviour. 1610 Shakes. Temp. ii. i. 121 Th' shore, that ore his waue-worne basis bowed As stooping to releeue him. |
| refl. c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. 136 Whan he had thought to have releved him selfe agayne out of the water. a 1533 ― Huon xvi. 42 Than venturously they releuyd them with ther swordys in ther handys, & so aprochyd eche to other. |
† b. To restore, bring back
into a state.
Obs.—1| 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 434 b/2 Alle vi were there by the merites of saynt aulbyn releuyd into their good helthe. |
† c. To set up or erect again.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1464 Rolls of Parlt. V. 569/2 He that releeved any such nusaunce and were thereof attaynted, shuld renne in the payne of a c Marc. |
† d. refl. To essay, presume.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1390 Gower Conf. II. 215 What man that wole himself relieve To love in eny other wise, He shal wel finde [etc.]. |
† 7. intr. a. To rise again. Also in
pass., to have risen from childbed.
Obs.| 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xxii. 161 Thus cam hit out þat crist ouer-cam rekeouered and lyuede [v.r. releuede]. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 125 Bi the praier of the said holy man the child resuscited and releued ayen from dethe to lyffe. c 1450 Merlin 397 He ouer-threwe hym a-gein..and at eche tyme that he didde releve, he smote him with his swerde to grounde. c 1500 Melusine 103 Whan the lady had ended the terme of her childbed, and that she was releuyd. a 1533 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) C vj, Yf by fortune he falle, he wyll neuer releue agayne. |
† b. To return or rally in battle (
cf. rely v.
1 3 a and 3 b). Const.
on,
upon,
to.
Obs.| c 1400 Sowdone Bab. 329 Wenynge it hade be Sauarye, Relevinge fro the hethen stour. c 1400 Rowland & O. 1081 Appon hym also relevede a sarazene wighte. c 1450 Holland Howlat 523 Feile of the fals folk, that fled of befor, Relevit in on thir twa. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xviii. xxiv. 769 The knyghtes of the round table releued euer vnto kynge Arthur. 1513 Douglas æneis xi. xiv. 16 Thai that drevyn war abak and chaste Relevis agane to the bargane in haist. |
† c. To return
to a previous state.
Obs. rare—1.
| a 1550 Treat. Galaunt 219 in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 160 O Englonde, remembre thyne olde sadnes; Exyle pryde, and relyeve to thy goodnes. |
† 8. trans. a. To take up or hold (a feudal estate) from the superior (
cf. relief2 1).
Obs.| c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn li. 196 The barons of the lande made their homage vnto sadoyne, and toke and releued their lordshippes of hym. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. 91 He had relyved the duchy of another lorde than of the Frenche kynge, of whom he ought to holde it. |
| absol. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. 589 The prince of Wales said to the erle of Foiz that last dyed, that he ought to releve of him. |
† b. To recover, regain.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ii. 168 Nocht onlie to releiue quhat thair he had loste, bot to subdue quhat was nocht ȝit subduet. |
III. † 9. To bring (a matter) into prominence; to make clear or evident.
Obs. rare.
| 1533 Bellenden Livy ii. i. (S.T.S.) I. 131 For þir ressouns he was constrenit to releve [v.r. Reveill] þe mater, quhilk he wald neuer haue done [etc.]. 1566 Lethington in Burnet Hist. Ref. (1679) I. Rec. iii. 269 An Instrument to relieve the Truth, and to confound false Surmises. |
† 10. To raise up, make higher.
Obs. rare.
| 1661 Morgan Sph. Gentry iii. v. 45 The adorning of the Helmet with Crest or Cognizance..being releived and raised up to be known in fight. |
11. a. To make (a thing) stand out; to render prominent or distinct; to bring into relief. Also
fig.| 1778 Sir J. Reynolds Disc. viii. (1876) 485 To Ariadne is given (say the critics) a red scarf, to relieve the figure from the sea which is behind her. a 1797 H. Walpole Mem. Geo. II (1822) I. 420 The letter..did not want its faults, but he knew not how to relieve them; his awkward acrimony defeated his own purpose. 1838 Prescott Ferd. & Is. (1846) I. viii. 372 The style of poetry..must be raised or relieved, as it were, upon the prevailing style of social intercourse. 1851 Ruskin Stones Ven. (1874) I. Pref. 6 The twilight relieving in purple masses the foliage on the Island. 1875 Swinburne Ess. Chapman 27 To relieve against the broad mass..of outer life the solitary process of that inward..tragedy. |
b. intr. To stand out in relief.
| 1812 Examiner 25 May 328/1 Brilliant lights relieving from a large proportion of half tints. 1883 Harper's Mag. Aug. 401/1 Relieving dark against their white walls were lines of troops. |
Hence
reˈlieved ppl. a.| 1824 P. Hawker Shooting (ed. 3) 9 This has not the effect of throwing the shot quite so close as the relieved cylinder. 1869 Spectator 26 Jan., If the relieved man earns his relief, he will spend it as well as he does his wages. 1874 H. H. Gardener Unoff. Patriot 276 One of the relieved pickets. |
Add:
[3.] [a.] Add to
def.: In
pa. pple., eased or freed from anxiety. (Further examples.)
| 1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxford I. v. 83 Tom felt greatly relieved, as he was beginning to find himself in rather deep water. 1874 Hardy Far from Madding Crowd II. xx. 243 Nevertheless, he was relieved when it [sc. the performance] was got through. 1920 Chambers's Jrnl. Dec. 849/2 The Prince..was considerably relieved to find that he was not on the visitor's executionary list. 1949 ‘J. Tey’ Brat Farrar x. 81 They wouldn't bother to look for him. They would be too relieved to have him out of their hair. 1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day ii. 39, I was relieved to find that the great singer had met something of the same difficulty in this apparently simple song. 1984 A. Cross Sweet Death ix. 94, I must know. I'd be relieved, grateful, if you could find out. |
[5.] e. intr. Baseball. To act as relief pitcher.
| 1954 Post-Herald (Birmingham, Alabama) 7 June 7/2 Winning pitcher was Dave Benedict, who relieved in the first inning and scattered four hits the rest of the way. 1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 27 June 2–f/4 Jerry Koosman chalked up his seventh win in 13 decisions, but his first victory since May 27 after losing five straight starts. Bob Apocada relieved for the Mets in the seventh. 1979 Boston Globe 10 Oct. 27/2 If the Series goes seven games, Kent Tekulve of the Pirates will relieve in seven games. |