reliefn.²

Brit.

/rᵻˈliːf/, U.S.

/rəˈlif/,

/riˈlif/

Forms:

α. Middle English–1500s relieff, Middle English–1500s relyefe, Middle English–1600s reliefe, Middle English– relief, late Middle English rerelief (transmission error), 1500s relyef, 1500s–1600s relieffe; Scottish pre-1700 reliefe, pre-1700 relieff, pre-1700 1700s– relief; N.E.D. (1906) also records a form late Middle English relyef.

β. Middle English releyf, Middle English–1500s releef, Middle English–1500s relef, Middle English–1500s relefe, Middle English–1600s releefe, Middle English–1600s releeff, Middle English–1600s releif, 1500s relaaff, 1500s releafe, 1500s releff, 1500s releffe, 1500s releyfe, 1500s reloeffe, 1500s–1600s releeffe, 1500s–1600s releief, 1500s–1700s releife, 1600s releiefe, 1600s rellefe, 1600s–1700s releiffe; Scottish pre-1700 raleif, pre-1700 raleiff, pre-1700 raleiffe, pre-1700 raleyf, pre-1700 raleyff, pre-1700 releafe, pre-1700 releefe, pre-1700 releeff, pre-1700 releeif, pre-1700 relef, pre-1700 relefe, pre-1700 releff, pre-1700 releffe, pre-1700 releif, pre-1700 releife, pre-1700 releiff, pre-1700 releiffe, pre-1700 releyf, pre-1700 releyff, pre-1700 1700s releef.

γ. Middle English releevys (plural), Middle English relyeve, Middle English–1500s releue, Middle English–1500s releve, Middle English–1500s relyue, late Middle English–1500s 1700s relieves (plural), 1500s releaue, 1500s releeve, 1600s relieue, 1600s relieve; Scottish pre-1700 releive, pre-1700 releue, pre-1700 relewe, pre-1700 relieue, pre-1700 relieve, pre-1700 relive.

δ. late Middle English relijf, late Middle English–1500s relyf, 1500s relife, 1500s relyfe, 1500s relyff, 1500s relyffe, 1600s reliff; Scottish pre-1700 relif, pre-1700 relife, pre-1700 reliffe, pre-1700 relyfe.

Origin: Perhaps of multiple origins. Probably partly a borrowing from French. Probably partly formed within English, by conversion. Perhaps also partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French releef , relief ; relieve v.; Latin relevium.

Etymology: Probably partly < Anglo-Norman releef, relef, releff, relif, Anglo-Norman and Middle French relief (French (now hist.) relief ) payment made to the overlord by the heir of a feudal tenant on taking up possession of the vacant estate (1215 or earlier in Anglo-Norman), formal acknowledgement of feudal tenure made by a vassal to a lord (13th cent. in Old French), alleviation (late 14th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman; < relever relieve v.), and partly (especially in later use) < relieve v. In sense 1a perhaps also partly < post-classical Latin relevium relevy n.¹; compare Middle Dutch relief , relif , in same sense (end of the 13th cent.; < Old French; Dutch (now hist.) relief ), and also post-classical Latin relevamentum (see relievement n.), relevatio (see relevation n.). Compare relieving n., and also earlier relief n.¹ Most later senses of the English noun are unparalleled in French, and apparently show either semantic specialization of the earliest sense ‘alleviation’ (probably under the influence of the verb), or conversion from the verb.The usual modern form with final voiceless fricative is perhaps due in part to analogy with such pairs of noun and verb as believe v. vs. belief n., grieve v. vs. grief n., etc., rather than simply to continuation of the (semantically much more restricted) Anglo-Norman and Middle French word, although it is also possible that the French word may simply have been commoner and broader in meaning (particularly in Anglo-Norman) than the surviving attestations suggest.

a. Payment made to the overlord by the heir of a feudal tenant on taking up possession of the vacant estate; an instance of this. Now historical (Scottish in later use).The relief varied in value and kind, according to rank and tenure. It was abolished in Scotland in 1914.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > respect > [noun] > manifestation of respect > act of dutiful respect > by vassal

reliefa1325

feec1330

society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > payment or service to feudal superior > [noun] > on death of vassal > payment by heir

reliefa1325

relevyc1475

relevavith1546

ingressus1706

a1325 Statutes of Realm (2011) i. 3 Ȝif ani eerl, oþer baron,..oþer ani oþer þat holde of hus in chief bi seruice of kniȝt, deie, and wan he deith his heir be of plener age ant sulle helde relief, brouke wel his heritage bi þe holde relief.

1393 in J. Slater Early Scots Texts (Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Edinb.) (1952) No. 26 Saufand to the said lord erle..the warde or the relefe of the said landis.

?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 214 Of wardes & relefe [Fr. gardes et relefs] þat barons of him held, þer ne was ore of chefe tille him no þing suld ȝeld.

1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xii. 320 Gif ony deis in this battaill, His air, but ward, releif [1489 Adv. releff], or taill, On the first day his land sall weild.

1503–4 Act 19 Hen. VII c. 15 Preamble Lordes of whom..tenementes be holden in socage [be defrauded] of ther releffes.

1597 J. Skene De Verborum Significatione at Recognition The superiour may recognosce, and reteine the samin [lands] vntil securitie be maid to him for payment of the relieue.

1614 J. Selden Titles of Honor ii. iv. 225 The Heriot was, what the Eorle or Thane paid his Lord..in nature of a Relief.

1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 145 The reliefe of the Countrey man is the best beast that is in his possession; and of him that farmeth his Lands a yeeres rent.

1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. 65 Relief..was before mentioned as incident to every feodal tenure, by way of fine or composition with the lord for taking up the estate.

1776 in W. B. Stonehouse Hist. Isle of Axholme (1839) 144 On surrender, the Lord is not entitled to any heriots or reliefs.

1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) I. 34 The doctrine of reliefs was also adopted from the laws of Normandy.

1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scotl. 844 The casualty of relief is a sum exigible from an heir on his entry with the superior.

1874 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. I. ix. 261 The change of the heriot to the relief implies a suspension of ownership, and carries with it the custom of livery of seisin.

1929 Glasgow Herald 27 Dec. 3 The superior..on renewing the grant to the heir of a deceased vassal being entitled to a fine or casualty called ‘relief’.

1985 J. Oxland & R. T. J. Stein Understanding Land Law 15 Lords then began to allow a fee to pass to the heir of the tenant on the latter's death. But a price had to be paid, called a ‘relief’.

2002 D. Iredale & J. Barrett Discovering your Old House (ed. 4) xv. 138 Extents were drawn up describing in detail property descending to an heir, who paid a relief (fee) to inherit.

†b. Formal acknowledgement of feudal tenure made by a vassal to a lord. Obsolete. rare (historical in later use).

ΚΠ

1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. ci. f. cxiiii^v/1 The bysshop..counsayled that euery man shulde be newe sworne, and renewe their releues [Fr. que tous renouuellassent leur relief].

1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. clxxxiiii. f. ccxxix^v/2 There the erle of Armynake and the Erle of Rodays made their reliefe and homage to the kynge, acordinge to the custome as other lordes of Fraunce made their relyefe [Fr. La conte darmignac et la conte de rodais du Roy et luy en fist hommage aux vs et aux coustumes que les seigneurs subgectz du roy de France relieuent leurs fiefs].

1828 P. F. Tytler Hist. Scotl. I. i. 74 No crown-vassal, widow, orphan, or ward of the crown, was to be under the necessity of performing their homage or relief out of the kingdom.

a. Alleviation of or deliverance from distress, anxiety, or some other emotional burden; the feeling accompanying this; mental relaxation, release, or reassurance. Also: an instance or cause of this; an occasion which provides such release.See also comic relief n., light relief n.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pleasure > state of being consoled or relieved > [noun]

comfort1340

lightness1357

consolationc1374

reliefa1393

the mind > emotion > pleasure > state of being consoled or relieved > [noun] > consolation or relief

lightingOE

leathc1175

comfort?c1225

solacec1290

lithec1300

comfortingc1320

allegeancec1325

swaging1340

froa1350

releasec1350

consolationc1374

legeancec1390

reliefa1393

comfortationa1400

leathinga1400

swagea1400

allegementa1425

alleviation?a1425

recreation?a1425

refrigery?a1425

lighteningc1425

recomfortc1425

mitigation?1435

recomforting1487

recreancea1500

allevation1502

easement1533

solacy1534

ease1542

cheer1549

assuagement1561

refreshing1561

easing1580

recomfortation1585

recomforture1595

assuage1596

allevement1599

mitification1607

allayment1609

solagement1609

levation1656

solacement1721

solation1757

soulagement1777

consolement1797

de-tension1949

de-tensioning1952

tea and sympathy1953

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vi. 640 Thus for the point of his relief [rhyme lief], The coc which schal his mete arraie [etc.].

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 982 Tho preyde she hir housbond mekely In relief [v.r. releueinge] of hir longe pitous pyne That he wolde praye hir fader..To vouche sauf som day with hym to dyne.

c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 233 (MED) I may make sorewe without relijf [rhyme wijf], For filius regis mortuus est.

1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1928) xxxii. 158 They hoped for to haue releue Of theyr impryson whych dyde them so greue.

a1547 Earl of Surrey Poems (1964) 19 That man is farre from blisse That doth receive for his relief none other gayn but this.

1601 J. Marston et al. Iacke Drums Entertainm. ii. sig. D4^v Thats the best reliefe: To drowne all care, and ouerwhelme all griefe.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 (1623) iii. iii. 20 Tell thy griefe, It shall be eas'd, if France can yeeld reliefe .

1645 J. Milton Sonnet i, in Poems 45 Thou from yeer to yeer hast sung too late For my relief.

1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 1 Apr. (1965) I. 324 She is young and her conversation would be a great releife to me.

1769 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) I. xviii. 121 Railing is usually a relief to the mind.

1781 W. Cowper Truth 455 The soul, reposing on assured relief, Feels herself happy amidst all her grief.

1818 P. B. Shelley Julian & Maddalo 565 I sought relief From the deep tenderness that maniac wrought Within me.

1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. vii. 432 It is a relief to turn from so painful a subject.

1876 E. Mellor Priesthood viii. 372 There is..a great relief in unburdening to a friend the sins and sorrows of one's life.

1946 J. Hersey Hiroshima i. 20 To her relief, the all-clear sounded at eight o'clock.

1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day iii. 47 I felt more anticlimax than relief after the dreaded interview.

2006 Observer 14 May (Review section) 4/2 He seems cheerful and grounded, which is a relief.

b. Ease from or alleviation of physical pain or discomfort. Cf. pain relief n. at pain n.¹ Compounds 2.

ΚΠ

a1500 (c1477) T. Norton Ordinal of Alchemy (BL Add.) (1975) 2073 (MED) A lewde man..Tastyd of the white stone a parte, Trustyng therbi to fynde relyefe Of alle seknes and of alle grefe.

1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes (new ed.) f. 99 Death hath brought your payne a right relefe.

1596 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) I. 376 That hir said husband and bairnis beand swa tormentit besyde hir, mycht move hir to mak ony confessioune for thair releif.

a1614 in J. Melvill Autobiogr. & Diary (1842) p. lvii His only refreschment and releiff, in the extremitie of paine, wes prayer.

1691 J. Ray Wisdom of God 69 The Warming-stone..hath been found to give ease and relief in several Pains and Diseases.

1705 F. Fuller Medicina Gymnastica 3 Most Men indulge themselves in the Expectation of..sudden Relief.

1774 W. Buchan Domest. Med. (ed. 3) xliii. 490 Nothing will procure any lasting relief till these [humours] are either corrected or expelled.

1859 Lancet 1 Jan. 8/2 Condy's fluid was commenced on the fourth day, with immediate relief to the pain.

1879 J. C. Morison Gibbon 172 He underwent another operation and as usual experienced much relief.

1977 Ann. Internal Med. 86 738/1 Meperidine..is a narcotic analgesic that is widely used for the relief of pain.

1991 N. de Lange tr. A. Oz To know Woman (1992) vi. 23 Lisa calmed her with valerian drops, an old-fashioned remedy that nevertheless brought her some relief.

2003 Philadelphia June 23/2 The open-air pissoirs would provide relief for full bladders.

†c. Something that provides mental relaxation; entertainment, sport. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > [noun] > source of amusement or entertainment

mirtha1250

solacec1290

recreationc1400

esbatement1477

pastime1490

pastancea1500

passe-temps1542

entertainment1561

relief?1578

fancy1590

sport1598

abridgement1600

entertain1601

recreative1615

amusatory1618

nutsa1625

diverter1628

recreator1629

passatempo1632

amuser1724

fun1726

dissipation1733

resource1752

distraction1859

enlivening1859

good, clean fun1867

enlivenment1883

light relief1885

laugh1921

not one's scene1962

violon d'Ingres1963

?1578 W. Patten Let. Entertainm. Killingwoorth 24 If he wear taken onez, then what shyft..he woold woork too wynde hym self from them..waz a matter of a goodly releef.

d. Sexual release or satisfaction. In later use also: spec. = hand relief n. at hand n. Compounds 6.

ΚΠ

1609 R. Jones Musicall Dreame v. sig. D^v But if I can but get a man a man hele yeeld me some reliefe.

1709 E. Ward Secret Hist. Clubs xxxi. 392 Ladies know a Woman's best Relief Is found in him, that feeds on noble Beef.

1833 London Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 10 Aug. 46/1 When desire is urgent,..he avails himself of mental or mechanical excitation for his relief.

c1890 My Secret Life VI. i. 13 All day spite of the relief I had given my-self..I was as lewed as I could be.

1919 O. Adler in W. J. Robinson Sexual Truths 55 The majority of women affected by it [sc. inability to orgasm during sexual intercourse] seek relief by masturbating after coitus.

1982 E. McCleod Women Working 35 It's £10 for topless hand relief (masturbating the client) £15 for strip and relief.

1996 Observer Rev. 12 May 1/4 The going rates are £30 for sex, £40 for oral, £50 for spanking with relief, £70 for caning and relief, always with a condom.

2000 L. Parrott Help your Struggling Teenager ii. 220 Once a sexual image came into his mind he could not function until he found relief through masturbation.

e. A change which provides respite from something monotonous or tedious; a (typically agreeable or pleasant) feature which breaks up visual or other monotony. Also as a mass noun: alleviation or respite brought about by such change.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > change > [noun] > welcome change

relief1712

1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 333. ¶23 He has..interspersed several Speeches, Reflections, Similitudes, and the like Reliefs, to diversifie his Narration.

1773 S. Johnson Let. 30 Sept. (1788) I. 115 Company is..considered as a supply of pleasure, a relief of that tediousness of life which is felt in every place.

1793 J. Thomson Major Piper II. xix. 103 The variety of walks, which were cut in every direction,..was a welcome relief from the surrounding gloom of the other parts.

1833 H. Martineau Brooke & Brooke Farm (ed. 3) i. 4 A clump of beeches..were a relief to the eye.

1870 F. R. Wilson Archit. Surv. Churches Lindisfarne 81 The north walls..were built as plain lengths of masonry, without buttresses, windows, mouldings, or relief of any kind.

1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 17 Apr. 2/1 The new-made Countess, who is in white lampas, with spotless ermine and yellow for relief.

1904 Church Times 29 Apr. 569/1 An occasional relief to the usual strict dietary in the way of some exceptional or extra food or delicacy.

1979 ‘J. le Carré’ Smiley's People (1980) i. 7 Her black dress..possessed neither a waist nor any other relief except for a dash of white lace at the neck.

2000 Lewiston (Idaho) Morning Tribune (Nexis) 1 June (Outdoors section) 1 d The gentle dark green slopes of Osier Ridge and Wapito Peak. For relief, there are brighter greens of the shrubs and meadows.

f. A gradual widening in the bore of a gun barrel towards the muzzle. Now chiefly historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > bore > gradual widening of bore

relief1824

1824 P. Hawker Instr. Young Sportsmen (ed. 3) 8 This relief has the effect of making the gun shoot as close as it can do.

1858 W. Greener Gunnery in 1858 306 The relief in the muzzle of a gun has a tendency, by allowing a gradual expansion laterally, to keep the charge of shot better together.

1951 I. Glendenning Brit. Pistols & Guns ii. 11/2 I think that the relief at the muzzle of a rifle or smooth-bore gun was more for the purpose of ease of starting the projectile into the muzzle.

a. Assistance in time of danger, need, or difficulty; aid, help, or support.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > types of help > [noun] > help in trouble, danger, or difficulty

bootOE

dischargec1390

relief?1406

redressa1413

relievement1443

?1406 T. Hoccleve La Mâle Règle 55 in E. P. Hammond Eng. Verse between Chaucer & Surrey (1927) 61/1 O now thyn help, thy socour and releef, And I for ay mis reule wole exyle.

c1500 Melusine (1895) 270 Many of them for theyre relyf supposed to haue entred into thadmyral shipp & they were drowned.

1529 T. Wolsey in W. B. Scoones Four Cent. Eng. Lett. (1880) 11 I with all myn shal not onely ascrybe thys my relef unto you, but [etc.].

1603 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Hist. Descr. Worlde 3 In sodaine hurliburlies of warre it is commonly seene, that courage affoorde more reliefe then policie.

1659 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. Psalms (cii. 6 Paraphr.) 500 For any relief from man, I am as distetute and hopeless of it.

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 184 At night Boats and Pilots went off to her Relief.

1708 S. Ockley Conquest of Syria 276 Whilst he was murdering the unhappy Aleppians, Caled, (better late than never) came to their Relief.

1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer v. 99 Prudence once more comes to my relief.

1832 J. Baxter Libr. Agric. & Hort. Knowl. (ed. 2) 202 The soil is the only resource of permanent relief.

1845 W. G. Simms Wigwam & Cabin 1st Ser. 22 The boatman, who..knew by his dialect and dress that he was a back-countryman, came to his relief.

1976 E. S. Dodge Islands & Empires vi. 98 For three years the missionaries nearly starved. After relief arrived in 1838, Cross attempted to establish a mission at Mbau.

2000 Times (Nexis) 8 July (Sports section) Surrey were soon undermined by a fine opening spell... Relief came from an unexpected quarter in Anil Kumble, who consistently pitched short.

b. Aid, support, or help given in time of war; (in later use) esp. deliverance of a besieged town or people from an attacking force.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > defence > [noun] > defensive support

relief1443

appui1809

society > armed hostility > attack > action or state of siege or blockade > [noun] > discontinuing of siege > freeing from siege or blockade

relief1443

relieving1720

deblockade1871

1443 in H. Nicolas Proc. & Ordinances Privy Council (1835) V. 417 (MED) Þat þe saide Viscounte..ordeine þe saide men, vitaille, & shippes to be sent over in all haste to Bourdeaulx for þe socoure & rerelief of it.

a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) viii. l. 5410 Thrysse in þat feycht at gret myscheiff He was, bot ay he gat releyff.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lxxxx Where as we entended the relief and reskue of you and our sayd subiectes and citie of Turnay.

1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 173 Agricola..sayles into Britannie w^t a chosen and waled armie, in releife of the Romanis.

1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. 107 The warre, which is farre from the reliefe of any friend.

1652 J. Wadsworth tr. P. de Sandoval Civil Wars Spain 151 They kept their Rounds and Guards in the Citie, and sent Hors to the relief of Segovia.

1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 29 They had given over the Relief of Casal.

1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xxx. 165 Stilicho..advanced..to the relief of the faithful city.

1810 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1836) VI. 257 I..have been prevented from attempting its relief only by the certainty which I had that the attempt must fail.

1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest III. xii. 168 He collected his troops with all speed, and hastened..to the relief of Ambrières.

1904 Sat. Rev. 18 June 784/1 Patriots, who with whisky, rattles, ticklers, Union Jacks and patriotic melody..celebrated the relief [of Mafeking].

1968 P. Warner Sieges of Middle Ages iii. 63 He built two temporary wooden forts to cut off the castle from any external relief.

1998 Phoenix Catal. No. P162. 1/2 He was attached to the 53rd regiment and had a front seat view of the famous action at the relief of Lucknow.

c. A group effecting this; a body of soldiers, etc., coming to the aid of a person or place. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > types of help > [noun] > help in trouble, danger, or difficulty > one who > group

supplies1488

relief1568

1568 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1934) I. 80 So greit releivis of lordis [Maitland releiffis and lordis] thame to defend.

1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 220 She..retired with the Prince to a reliefe which they brought from beyond Sea.

1670 C. Cotton tr. G. Girard Hist. Life Duke of Espernon 594 He gave advice to Fight the Relief so soon as ever it began to appear.

1756 A. P. Goddard tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Italy IX. 298 He [sc. the Pope] would be held in Play until this first Relief arrived, after which Rome would be out of Danger.

1825 S. Perkins Hist. Late War 136 Here they remained surrounded and frequently attacked..until a relief arrived with provisions and horses.

1857 G. Harris Diary 26 Sept. in Lady's Diary Siege Lucknow (1858) 119 Yesterday evening, on the eighty-eighth day of the siege, our long-looked for and so often despaired-of ‘relief’ arrived.

1935 C. E. Banks Hist. York, Maine 319 They then held out against the Indians until a relief came to their rescue from the town.

†d. Assistance towards saving or achieving something. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > types of help > [noun] > help to save or effect something

relief1659

1659 J. Leak tr. I. de Caus New Inventions Water-works 26 A rare and necessary Engin, by which you may give great reliefe to Houses that are on Fire.

1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ i. iv. §3 We are like then to have little relief for finding out of truth in the Poetick Age of Greece.

†4. Hunting.

a. Of a hare or hart: the action or an act of seeking food; feeding or pasturing. Cf. relieve v. 3c. Also figurative with reference to persons. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating by animals > [noun]

reliefc1425

pabulation1623

marshing1778

night-feeding1838

ovesting1903

c1425 Edward, Duke of York Master of Game (Vesp. B.xii) (1904) 104 (MED) Gladly she wil not be þer as she haþ pasturid but in tyme of reliefe.

1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie xxix. 75 He muste take good heede that he come not too earely into the springs and hewtes where he thinketh that the Harte doth feede and is at reliefe.

1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie lxi. 171 Houndes will haue better sente of an Hare when shee goeth towards the reliefe, than when shee goeth towardes hyr Forme.

a1637 B. Jonson Sad Shepherd ii. vii. 19 in Wks. (1640) III A Witch..will be found, or sitting in her fourme, Or els, at releife, like a Hare.

1671 J. Dryden Evening's Love iv. 60 What, Are you going to reliefe by Moonshine?

1714 A. Stringer Experienc'd Huntsman 147 Some fancy the hunting of a hare from her relief to her form.

1750 J. S. Gardiner Art & Pleasures of Hare-hunting 41 All Hares leave more Scent going to, than from Relief.

b. The giving of food to young hounds after a successful chase. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [noun] > feeding hounds

relief1590

1590 T. Cokayne Treat. Hunting C j A good Huntsman ought to..carry with him a peece of bread in his sleeue to wet in the bloud of the Hare for the reliefe of his whelps.

c. A call sounded on a horn. Cf. recheat n. Also figurative. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > hunting > signals > [noun] > signal on horn

forloinc1369

motec1400

strakea1425

rechasec1425

recopec1425

morta1500

seekc1500

death note1575

recheat1575

gibbet1590

wind1596

relief1602

call1677

stroke1688

gone away1827

rattle1889

society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > music on specific instrument > [noun] > wind music > cadence or flourish on horn

blas?c1225

forloinc1369

windc1374

strakea1425

strakinga1425

rechasec1425

rechasingc1425

recopec1425

seekc1500

mort1555

recheat1575

gibbet1590

senneta1593

relief1602

horn-call1632

call1677

stroke1688

tantivy1785

tralira1801

tra-la-la1886

1602 2nd Pt. Returne fr. Parnassus ii. v. 854 When you come to your stately gate, as you sounded the recheat before, so now you must sound the releefe three times.

1606 Returne from Pernassus ii. v. sig. D2 O sir, but your reliefe [MS veline] is your sweetest note, that is sir, when your hounds hunt after a game vnknowne.

a. Aid, help, or assistance given to a person or persons in a state of poverty or need; spec. (formerly) assistance given to the poor from funds administered under the Poor Law or from parish doles; (more recently) financial assistance given to those in need by the state under some other legislative provision, such as a system of social security. Also, in recent use: food or other supplies given as assistance in response to a particular disaster, crisis, etc.; frequently as second element in compounds.outdoor, parish, poor, town relief, etc.; famine, war relief: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social attitudes > philanthropy > [noun] > poor-relief

relieving1389

relief1438

poor relief1698

legal charity1818

poor-work1854

society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > grants and allowances > [noun] > payments to assist poor

relief1438

soldier money1593

relief ticket1830

the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > types of help > [noun] > aid in want, pain, sickness, etc. > material aid

relief1438

material aid1853

society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > grants and allowances > [noun] > state allowance

benefit1911

welfare benefit1913

welfare cheque1922

social security1943

pogey1954

entitlement programme1956

SS1963

social1966

welfare1970

social benefit1972

relief1995

1438 in C. Welch Hist. Pewterers of London (1902) I. 10 (MED) Also that euery persone houshoulder..paie yerly to the relef of pouer men of the same Craft xij d.

a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 901 (MED) Thy brothir, se, ny dyeth for myschief..If þou heer-after come vn-to swych pref, Thow wolt ful sore triste [v.r. thurst] after releef.

c1450 W. Lichefeld Complaint of God (Lamb. 853) l. 268 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 207 My seruauntis suffren hungir & coolde, Releef of þee ȝit haue þei noon.

1472–3 Rolls of Parl.: Edward IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1472 1st Roll §53. m. 9 To the verrey..worship of God, and grete releyf and sustenaunce of pore people.

1548 H. Latimer Notable Serm. sig. B.ii They would bequeath greate summes of money towarde the reliefe of the pore.

1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. xlviii. 96 Petitionarie prayer belongeth only to such as..stand in need of reliefe from others.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) i. i. 15 To reliefe of Lazars, and weake age Of indigent faint Soules..A hundred Almes-houses.

1632 R. Sanderson 12 Serm. 384 The competent releefe of the orderly poore.

1669 W. Montagu in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 446 The Church charities and the secular reliefs.

1743 J. Morris Serm. ii. 47 They..cruelly refuse to the distressed..relief.

1793 E. Burke Let. in Corr. (1968) VII. 425 In their idea of relief, there is always included something of punishment.

1829 Amer. Q. Rev. Mar. 116 The base and avaricious chiefs..[took] means to prevent the distribution of relief among the unhappy sufferers.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 421 The men, women, and children who receive relief are..one tenth of the inhabitants.

1865 Pall Mall Gaz. 13 May 1 If there is to be parochial relief at all..there must be some law to determine the question by whom that relief is to be given.

1893 Missionary Guardian Jan. 25/2 The money given to..earthquake and flood relief.

1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 22 Mar. 1/3 More than $400,000 has now been expended by the city in providing relief, it will be pointed out.

1945 French Rev. 18 239 The NCWC agency will cooperate..with other war relief agencies..with the aim of getting relief through to the neediest areas.

1995 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 29 Jan. a3 [During the Great Depression] some governments were more generous with welfare payments—known as relief—than others.

2002 Daily Tel. 28 Oct. 22/1 UN agencies and aid organisations trying to get food, medicine and relief into the stricken south.

2004 Pop. Sci. Mar. 46/2 (heading) An international fleet of microsatellites speeds up disaster relief.

†b. Sustenance. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > [noun] > sustenance or nourishment

foodOE

fosterc1000

fodnethOE

flittinga1225

livenotha1225

nourishingc1300

sustenancec1300

livelihoodc1325

nurture1340

fosteringc1386

livingc1405

nouriturea1425

nutriment?a1425

nutrition?a1425

lifehood1440

reliefa1450

nourishmentc1450

nurshingc1450

sustentationc1450

nutrimentc1485

alimenta1500

sustainmenta1500

bielda1522

creature1540

suck1584

mantiniment1588

fosterment1593

the three M's1938

a1450 (a1325) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (London Univ.) 827 Of relyue [c1325 Calig. pur meseise him þuder drof & defaute of biliue].

1530 in N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expences Henry VIII (1827) 86 Paied to the keper of Grenewiche parke for xiiij lode of hey..for the relief of the dere there, And for the carriage thereof [etc.].

1575 G. Gascoigne Hundred Flowers in Wks. 23 With gonnes we kill the Crowe, For spoyling our releefe.

1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage iv. vii. 322 Where is a faire Stone-Hospitall.., allowing..three dayes reliefe for horse and man freely.

†c. Support; sustaining of a place. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > preservation from injury or destruction > [noun] > preservation in being or maintenance > specifically of a person, institution, office, etc.

sustenancec1300

supportation1421

supporting1431

relief1463

support1561

supportance1593

1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 35 (MED) I yeve and be qwethe..Item, to the frerys of Babwelle..and to the relef and reparacion of the seid place, x s..Item, to the nunnys of Thetford..and to the releef and comfort of the place, x s.

?1464 H. Berry in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 296 Euery man to do his part to the wellfare, socour, and releue of our monasteri.

1601 Act 43 Eliz. c. 4 §1 Landes, Tenements, [etc.]..given..for or towardes Reliefe, Stocke or Maintenance for Howses of Correction.

1633 A. Munday et al. Stow's Surv. of London (new ed.) 97/2 He gave to Christs Hospitall, to purchase Lands for the reliefe of the house, five hundred pounds.

†d. A fresh supply or supplies of some article, as food, drink, etc. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > supply of food or provisions > [noun] > fresh supply

refreshing1418

relief?1578

?1578 W. Patten Let. Entertainm. Killingwoorth 61 Cam thear in a too dayz space, from sundry freendz: a releef of a .xl. tunn, tyll a nu supply waz gotten again.

1614 S. Purchas Pilgrimage (ed. 2) ix. xiv. 911 Besides this reliefe of Fowles, they had plentie of Tortoise egges.

1650 Sir R. Granville in Ld. Lansdowne's Wks. (1732) II. 227 I have likewise out of my small Stock sent a Relief of Clothes for the Soldiers.

1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World i. 118 Frequent Relief of fresh Water, of Plants, Fowl, and Fish, if not of Bread and Flesh.

a. Scots Law. Release from an obligation; (also) the right of a person accountable for something, esp. one who has stood security for a debt , to reclaim expenses incurred by the obligation; an instance of this. Frequently in bond (or claim, clause, etc.) of relief.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > [noun] > release from duty or obligation

remission?1316

loosingc1357

releasec1390

releasing1395

discharginga1398

defeasance1399

quittancea1400

acquittancec1405

discharge1423

absolution1447

acquittinga1450

quietance1451

excusationc1475

relief1496

acquittal?1538

releasement1548

ease1576

excuse1577

relievement1583

excusal1584

exoneration1640

dispensation1653

absolvement1689

society > law > legal right > rights to do or use something > [noun] > right to pecuniary compensation

recourse1462

regress1467

relief1927

1496 in G. Neilson & H. Paton Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1918) II. 35 The haile toune havand thare releif of the remanent of the burowis of the realme awing ony part of the soume.

1571 Extracts Rec. in W. Chambers Charters Burgh Peebles (1872) 327 To mak him payment thairof for thair awne releif of the charge of the kingis letteres direct to thame thairupone.

c1680 G. Dallas Syst. Stiles (1697) 1 If there be two or moe Cautioners, and that there be a mutual Relief, then the same must be immediatly before the Clause of Registration, and the Clause of mutual Relief conceived as follows.

1722 W. Forbes Inst. Law Scotl. I. ii. 195 The inherent Obligation of mutual Relief..is another improper Contract.

1837 Sc. Jurist 9 433 It is quite new to me that a clause of relief can operate to constitute a principal obligation.

1859 Times 7 Jan. 7 If the statements are false, the party who has been induced by them to engage in the transaction may have a claim of relief against the persons making the statements.

1927 W. M. Gloag & R. C. Henderson Introd. Law Scotl. 202 Where more than one cautioner is engaged anyone who has paid more than his share may claim relief from the others.

1946 A. D. Gibb Students' Gloss. Sc. Legal Terms 13 Bond of relief is the obligation entered into by a debtor to repay a guarantor.

2000 Times (Nexis) 8 Feb. The insurer could raise an action in his own name to enforce his right of relief for the whole sum.

b. More generally: formal release, esp. in law, from some hardship, burden, or grievance; legal remedy or redress; an instance of this.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > amending > [noun] > remedy

helpc1000

healinga1225

remedy?c1225

bote of beam1330

recurec1330

recoverera1375

remeida1413

redemption?a1439

botmenta1450

recurementc1450

presidy?a1475

mendsa1525

repair1612

relief1616

booty beam1642

beyond retrieve1658

beyond retrieval1697

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > claim at law > [noun] > legal redress

remedyc1405

relief1616

restitutio in integrum1676

comeback1907

1616 Kings Order & Decree in Chancery in G. Carew & W. Lambarde Rep. Chancery (1650) 122 The Judges of the common Law..cannot give any remedy or reliefe for the same, either by error or attaint, or by any other meanes.

1682 A. Colquitt Mod. Rep. 305 You give relief every day where there are express Clauses, that there shall be no relief in Law or Equity.

1743 Viner's Abridgm. XVIII. 328 Release of all Demands will bar a Demand of a Relief, because the Relief is by reason of the Seigniory.

1790 J. Wesley Let. July (1931) VIII. 231 The Justices averred the Methodists could have no relief from the Act of Toleration because they went to church, and that so long as they did so the Conventicle Act should be executed upon them.

1817 W. Selwyn Abridgem. Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 1131 The court refused to grant relief.

1917 Times 6 Feb. 3 Unless the public nuisance is established, no private individual can succeed in getting relief..in a case where the injury complained of..[results] from the use of the King's highway.

1977 S. Turow One L i. 50 ‘Torts’..is the study of the kinds of injuries done by private citizens to one another for which the law offers relief.

2006 N. Nzegwu Family Matters iii. 124 It is basic rule of litigation in our courts that a party should not be granted a relief not sought.

a. Release from some occupation, post, or duty; spec. the replacement of a person or persons on duty, as a soldier, sentinel, watch, etc., by another or others; an instance of this. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > [noun] > rotation of units or relief of troops

relief1513

roulement1918

society > occupation and work > work > times or periods of work > [noun] > release from occupation or duties

relief1513

1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid viii. Prol. 29 Luffaris langis only to lok in thair lace Thair ladeis lufely, and louk but let or releifis.

1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. iii. f. iiii/2 The watche that had watched al nyght, was as than departed and their reliefe nat come as than [Fr. Le guect de la nuyt presque tout retrait, et la guette montoit en sa garde].

1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. i. 6 For this reliefe much thanks.

1635 Earl of Manchester Al Mondo: Contemplatio Mortis (rev. ed.) 61 In Warres we often releeve the Watch. Life is a Warfare, yet hath no releefe but Death.

1727 H. Bland Treat. Mil. Discipline xvi. 234 During the Night, the Sentrys..should be Reliev'd every Hour; and between every Relief a Patrole should be sent round them to keep them Alert.

1799 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry (ed. 3) 359 The number of men necessary for the relief of the videts (or sentries), are then to be marched off.

1799 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1834) I. 26 Between foraging parties and outline picquets, we have not men enough left to give a relief.

1847 Infantry Man. (1854) 101 All advanced piquets must have three reliefs.

1889 Infantry Drill vii. 285 See that the sentries are visited every hour between reliefs.

1933 Times 9 Mar. 17 In September the column which was carrying out the relief of the troops stationed in Chitral was attacked.

2003 C. Emsley War, Culture & Memory ii. 50 The 7th Company held the trench they had gloriously won, and remained there..until the relief of the battalion.

b. A person or group relieving another on duty; esp. a soldier or body of soldiers relieving another on guard. Also (and earliest) in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > change > exchange > substitution > [noun] > a substitute > in work or sport

relief1709

substitute1826

sub1864

alternate1898

pinch-hitter1899

society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > soldier by type of service > [noun] > militiaman > substitute

substitute1758

relief1795

society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to conditions > [noun] > one who relieves another worker

relief1822

society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > group with special function or duty > [noun] > reserves

standardc1325

reserves1632

reservala1645

corps de réserve1704

relief1826

mass of manoeuvre1907

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 66 Little Parson Dapper, who is the common Relief to all the lazy Pulpits in Town.

1795 Standing Orders Norwich Regiment 54 The Serjeant of the Guard is to see all Reliefs regularly turned out for the Relief of Sentries.

1822 Regul. & Ord. Army 219 Officers on Guard..are to inspect all Reliefs, both on going out to their Posts, and returning from them.

1826 W. Scott Woodstock II. iii. 57 We are to have a relief from Oxford to-morrow.

1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. i. 19 McGary, my relief, calls me.

1882 E. A. Floyer Unexplored Baluchistan 145 I gave orders..that the present set [of donkeys] should not be abandoned until their reliefs came.

1919 ‘Etienne’ Strange Tales from Fleet 144 Look here, old chap, it's a quarter to four. What about your reliefs?

1978 P. Matthiessen Snow Leopard i. 48 One night..my relief on bow watch..failed to appear, and I was alone for eight hours in a maelstrom of wind and water.

1997 S. Scislowski Not all of us were Brave i. 56 As soon as our relief took over, Bob and I made tracks for the orchard, intending to fill our tunics with the juicy fruit.

c. A dish succeeding another. Cf. relieve v. 6b. Now rare (historical in later use).

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > [noun] > dish > preceding or succeeding dish

remove1733

relief1788

relevé1825

1788 W. Dyott Diary 1 Sept. (1907) I. 53 We had ninety dishes, fifty-five the first course and relieves, and thirty-five the second course.

1824 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto XV lxiii. 36 ‘Soupe à la bonne femme’..whose relief was Dory.

1936 P. Chalmers Shooting Man's Eng. xiii. 215 Ben Jonson..asks a friend to sup... The coney will be followed by a ‘relief’ of ‘partridge, pheasant, woodcock’.

a. Remission of some charge, penalty, burden, etc. Now rare (but cf. sense 6b).

ΚΠ

1535 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. II. 340 That I may haue..some releeve of the greate charge wiche the words of the Kyngs Lettres importe.

1688 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1852) I. 226 As to y^e Request of y^e Assembly for Relief of Grievances.

1726 Hist. Compend. from Creation to 1726 (ed. 2) 66 The Heathens oppress the Jews..but they obtain Relief of their Grievances, and a further confirmation of their Privileges.

1849 S. Eliot Liberty of Rome 10 Rutilus and his colleague exerted themselves at once in relief of the debts which weighed upon the lower estate.

1899 Sc. Law Reporter 11 July 875/1 Contributions made..in aid and relief of his obligation to feed and clothe..a large..family.

1968 D. S. Woolman Rebels in Rif (1969) viii. 122 By promising autonomy to the Catalans, relief of responsibility to the royalists, and honor to the military, he was able to win support from many factions.

b. spec. Remission of a duty, tax or the like; (in later use) short for tax relief n. at tax n.¹ Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > taxation > [noun] > tax allowances and deductions

relief1732

concession1888

tax relief1916

tax deduction1942

tax credit1946

tax allowance1950

tax-loss1959

tax break1968

1732 in Compl. Coll. Lords' Protests (1767) II. 87 The Landed Interest..will pay dear for the Relief of One Shilling in the Pound..in this Year's Land-Tax.

1822 Times 31 Jan. 2 He entreated the meeting not to be deceived by the particular bearing of any particular tax... Partial relief would avail the agriculturalist very little.

1860 E. S. White Maltster's Guide 157 Full directions for applying for relief of malt duty in the case of damage.

1889 A. Chapman Income-tax Grievances & their Remedy i. 9 Appellants who..prove..that their profits have not been equal to the sum at which they were assessed and have paid duty, are entitled to relief and repayment of tax.

1972 Accountant 17 Aug. 191/1 The strict ban against relief for part-time directors and employees.

2009 Daily Mail (Nexis) 15 Jan. 12 The Revenue says the majority of people who were entitled to the relief have already claimed it.

a. Deliverance or release from religious or political oppression or tyranny.

ΚΠ

1585 R. Lane Let. 12 Aug. in Proc. Amer. Antiquarian Soc. (1860) 4 12 By meane whereof..the Churche..may..finde a relyfe and freedom from the servytude and tyranny that by Spayene..the same hath..beene most myserabelly oppressed with.

1649 Unanimous Declar. Scroope's & Ireton's Regiments 5 Such Tyranicall Officers whose unsufferable proceedings tend..to the obstruction of our Peace, the hinderances of the Relief of Ireland, [etc.].

1780 G. Suckling Hist. Acct. Virgin Islands x. 67 The inhabitants and merchants remain without any other hopes of relief from the tyranny of their oppressors.

1830 Niles' Reg. 6 Nov. 181/1 It is..a concession to the remonstrance of a minority, who believe themselves to be oppressed, and call aloud for relief from oppression.

1861 T. E. May Constit. Hist. Eng. (1863) I. 375 The friends of the Catholic claims, who would have condemned it separately,..consented to it, as a necessary part of the measures for the relief of the Catholics.

1908 Times 20 May 10 A Jewish community in Egypt petitioning for relief from a persecution which kept them from observing their religious ordinances.

2001 History Today (Nexis) 1 Jan. 19 British and imperial stability required a Union which, in turn, demanded a measure of relief or ‘emancipation’ for Catholics.

b. Scottish.

(a) Usually with capital initial. Freedom from a system of ecclesiastical patronage; applied spec. to a movement within the 18th-cent. Church of Scotland which asserted the right of a congregation to elect its own ministers. Chiefly in Church of Relief, Presbytery of Relief, etc. Now historical.The Relief movement resulted in a secession from the Establishment in 1761, and the formation of the Relief Church by Thomas Gillespie (1708–74) and others. In 1847 the church amalgamated with the United Secession to form the United Presbyterian Church.

ΚΠ

1736 in J. MacKerrow Hist. Secession Church (1841) 101 This Presbytery should make some step towards the relief of the Lord's oppressed heritage.

1761 in J. MacKerrow Hist. Secession Church (1841) 283 The presbytery did, and hereby do, form themselves into a Presbytery of Relief, for the relief of Christians.

1775 M. J. Armstrong Compan. Map of Peebles 57 The town..Has a meeting house, or church of relief.

1794 Z. Yewdall in Arminian Mag. Aug. (1795) 371 Here I found a large parish church, two meeting-houses, and a Kirk of relief.

1847 Mem. Union of Secession & Relief Churches 7 To begin and maintain a friendly intercourse with the Synod of Relief.

1867 Chambers's Encycl. at United Presb. Ch. They boldly resolved to deprive the people of all right to elect..ministers. Never were forced settlements more shameless... Relief was felt to be a necessity.

1909 New Schaff-Herzog Encycl. Relig. Knowl. III. 84 The ‘free church’ movement manifested itself first and most forcibly in Scotland, in the Secession Church of 1733, the Church of Relief of 1752 [etc.].

2004 K. B. E. Roxburgh in A. E. McGrath & D. C. Marks Blackwell Compan. Protestantism i. vii. 113 The three ministers and an elder from each of the three congregations met together and constituted themselves into the Presbytery of Relief.

(b) In elliptical use, with the. This church or movement.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > sect > Christianity > Protestantism > Presbyterianism > Presbyterian sects and groups > [noun] > relief > collective

relief1767

Relief Church1767

1767 Scots Mag. 29 285/2 Another minister, and a preacher,..have..gone into the Relief.

1814 L. Murray Young Man's Best Compan. (1821) 510 There is also a species of Dissenters from the Church of Scotland called the Relief, whose only difference from the Kirk is, the choosing of their own pastors.

1847 Mem. Union of Secession & Relief Churches 7 The overture proposed only intercourse with the Relief as a sister Church.

1904 R. Small Hist. Congregations United Presbyterian Church I. 72 About the close of his Arts course, he..joined the Relief.

1997 Internat. Bull. Missionary Res. (Nexis) 1 Apr. 67 The denominational churches—the Relief and the United Secession..—failed to make any major impact.

10. Chiefly British. An additional vehicle providing public transport at times of high demand; a relief train, bus, etc. (see Compounds 3, relief train n. (b) at Compounds 1b). Now chiefly historical.

ΚΠ

1930 London & North East. Railway Mag. July 362/2 The 3.40 p.m. York–Newcastle was duplicated and I was advised..to travel on the relief ‘as it will leave first’.

1951 Railway Gaz. 4 May 510/1 Many trains run as reliefs last summer are to run regularly this year and will appear in the public timetables.

1980 K. Warren Fifty Years of Green Line xiv. 96/1 Most of these were drafted into the private hire fleet..and thus some may have found themselves as Green Line reliefs.

1987 Railway Mag. Nov. 709/3 The 6.59 p.m. from Hastings..was operated..daily in summer as a relief to the 7.10 pm. from Hastings to Charing Cross.

Phrases

P1. on (the) relief: in receipt of state relief (see sense 5a); (colloquial, chiefly U.S. and Irish English) ‘on the dole’.

ΚΠ

1921 Times 27 Sept. 9 It is officially reported that 124,410 persons in India are on relief.

1935 Fortune Aug. 39/3 Last year was a good year..for McLean County, in spite of the fact that 12,000 of the population of 70,000 are on relief.

1936 Violations Free Speech & Rights Labor (U.S. Senate Comm. Educ. & Labor) 3993 Has he had credit or has he been on a cash basis?.. He was on the relief.

1957 R. Hoggart Uses of Literacy ii. 40 At my grandmother's we were not living ‘on relief’ but, like many around us, we were ‘a bit short’.

1996 F. McCourt Angela's Ashes (1997) ii. 59 She said that..that Dad would have to get up off his arse, get a job,..or go on the relief.

2003 V. O. Carter Such Sweet Thunder 36 Bein glad to git that [sc. half pay] 'cause almost ever'body you know..have to be on relief!

P2. Baseball. in relief: in the position or role of relief pitcher.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > [adverb] > types of pitcher

in relief1935

1935 N.Y. Times 3 July 10/5 He pitched in relief against the Giants.

1979 Arizona Daily Star 1 Apr. c1/5 Steve Conroy entered the game in relief.

2007 D. Ortiz & T. Massarotti Big Papi 4 The dude pitched three innings in relief and he didn't give up a hit or a run.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.

relief agency n.

ΚΠ

1862 Times 1 Nov. 7/1 The work which the different relief agencies have to perform is to keep 6,579 hands..who have no visible incomes.

1993 Gulf News (Dubai) 26 Oct. 5/6 UN relief agencies in Iraq fear that rebel Kurds in northern Iraq will block the vital Iraq-Turkey highway.

relief aid n.

ΚΠ

1862 Times 25 July 8/3 In the House of Commons, on the order for the second reading of the Union Relief Aid Bill.

1878 Proc. 54th Ann. Comunic. Right Worthy Grand Lodge (Independent Order Odd Fellows) 7817 The Subordinate Lodge..with power to dispense its relief aid directly.

2004 New Statesman 6 Sept. 17/3 The government has reluctantly allowed in relief aid, some of which, the UN reports, is reaching the Darfuris who have fled.

relief bill n.

ΚΠ

1784 Parl. Papers E. India Aff. 515 In a Committee, on the East-India Company relief bill, Lord Galway in the chair.

1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. p. viii His Grace did oppose the Relief Bill in every stage of its progress.

1921 Times 4 Nov. 11/1 In the House of Commons..Supplementary Estimates arising out of Relief Bills were agreed to.

2006 Bond Buyer (Nexis) 30 Mar. 62 Less than a month after the hurricane struck..the Mississippi Legislature passed relief bills that allowed schools and governments to borrow funds..for capital and operating expenses.

relief boat n.

ΚΠ

1852 Weekly Wisconsin (Milwaukee) 3 Nov. 2/3 A relief boat on the Mississippi recently received $4,000 for one night's labor.

1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous 167 They were turned into relief-boats to carry fish.

1998 R. Redfern Walking in Hebrides (2003) xviii. 179 An old woman became seriously ill and couldn't be got aboard a relief boat.

relief coordinator n.

ΚΠ

1931 Kingsport (Tennessee) Times 2 Sept. 4/7 The new relief co-ordinator..is in sharp contrast to his predecessor.

2001 I. Koss Called to Follow 74 Then the relief coordinator said, ‘Many of the mothers who receive these layettes are so thankful they share them with two other mothers.’

relief committee n.

ΚΠ

1822 Times 5 Sept. 2/4 It was, no doubt, a question with the Relief Committee, whether some palliatives might not be found.

1892 J. C. Harris On Plantation 139 Where they lived remote from the relief committees, the families of the soldiers were not so well provided for as they had a right to expect.

1992 Herald Sun (Melbourne) (Nexis) 23 Sept. When I went to the Relief Committee, I met a lot of other people who were in need also.

relief doctor n.

ΚΠ

1855 G. Robertson Scrap Bk. Law & Politics, Men & Times 110/1 To doubt the skill of relief doctors is heresy.

1950 Times 8 Aug. 3 A relief doctor will remain on the island when Dr. Udovikoff is removed.

2006 M. E. Tuck Our Diabetic Sons xx. 170 The relief doctor gave orders for Doug to have 22 units of regular insulin.

relief effort n.

ΚΠ

1868 W. W. Hunter Ann. Rural Bengal ii. 55 Nevertheless, the two formal specifics may be assisted by subsidiary relief efforts, such as public works and organized public charity.

2008 St. Petersburg (Russia) Times 20 May 16/1 A ramped-up relief effort for the 2.5 million people left destitute by Cyclone Nargis.

relief fund n.

ΚΠ

1826 Times 17 May 2/6 The nominal amount of the relief-fund for the poor, has not increased in any degree worth mentioning since 1822–3.

1914 Scotsman 5 Oct. 10/3 The Flag Day effort organised to help the Belgian Relief Fund.

2005 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 3 Jan. 6/5 Surfwear giant Billabong yesterday announced a $500,000 relief fund to help tsunami victims in the surf resorts off northern Sumatra.

relief guard n.

ΚΠ

1776 London Mag. Feb. 94/1 I was awakened from my reverie by the sound of martial music. The relief guard passed by.

1823 Times 24 Dec. 3/6 The defendant, with a relief guard of five men, was coming out of the Park.

1997 L. R. Speer Portals to Hell x. 223 Moments after the afternoon relief guard entered the prison, a crowd of prisoners rushed and disarmed them.

relief line n.

ΚΠ

1856 Times 13 Nov. 3/2 An act empowering the construction by the Company of a relief line, between Lewisham and Dartford Stations.

1898 Daily News 23 Nov. 5/1 The new station..will consist of an island platform placed between the up and down relief lines.

1999 New Statesman (Nexis) 18 Oct. The train had been diverted to a relief line, parallel to the main, to let a fast mail pass.

relief measure n.

ΚΠ

1821 Niles' Weekly Reg. 17 Nov. 187/1 The legislature..may precipitate the destruction of the whole system, as a relief measure, by so far depreciating the paper as to stop its circulation.

1901 F. H. Skrine Life Sir W. W. Hunter xiii. 225 The conclusion arrived at was..that relief measures should be taken when the price of coarse grain touched a penny per lb.

1990 I. Bernstein New York City Draft Riots 183 The AICP associated the inappropriate relief measures of the ‘pseudo-philanthropist’ with the overtures to the poor made by Democratic reformers and politicians.

relief mission n.

ΚΠ

1848 Daily National Intelligencer (Washington) 18 Mar. Yet all the glory and triumphs of victory were as nothing compared with the pleasure afforded by being dispatched on this relief mission to disconsolate Ireland and unhappy Scotland.

2009 Calgary (Alberta) Herald (Nexis) 15 Mar. a5 A Cochrane resident..feels compelled to take the trip because of the poverty and devastation she has witnessed on previous relief missions.

relief nurse n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > healer > nurse > [noun] > other types

man-nurse1530

probationer nurse1584

parish nurse1716

day nurse1759

school nurse1836

Gamp1846

hospital nurse1848

pupil nurse1861

male nurse1874

district nurse1883

relief nurse1884

casualty nurse1885

bayman1888

maid nurse1895

charge-nurse1896

ward nurse1899

health visitor1901

practice nurse1912

community nurse1922

scrub nurse1927

theatre nurse1934

para-nurse1942

nurse practitioner1967

rehab nurse1977

1884 Lancet 8 Nov. 824/2 The relief nurse coming on duty.

1938 Times 12 Jan. 15 She..cannot afford to engage a trained nurse or a relief nurse.

2000 L. Jackson If she only Knew 57 I've already got a live-in nurse and a relief nurse waiting.

relief operation n.

ΚΠ

1837 Manch. Times 5 Aug. Two questions were moved, the one, to throw all the unemployed on the soup kitchen, the other to discontinue the relief operations altogether.

1896 R. Temple Story of my Life II. i. 8 It was also close to the famine-stricken country and to the relief operations.

2008 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 26 June 40/1 The population's vulnerability to attack by the Janjaweed, even in refugee camps, greatly limited the ability of a very large relief operation to help them.

relief organization n.

ΚΠ

1847 Friends' Weekly Intelligencer 27 Mar. 413/1 Providing..supplies of food for those sections of Ireland and Scotland which were least likely to be provided for by the private trade, and to leave the remainder of the country to..the relief organization.

1974 Whig-Standard (Kingston, Ont.) 11 Jan. 7/1 A..graduate..with many years of experience with relief organizations.

2002 D. Rieff Bed for Night (2003) 358 World Vision is more like a classic Christian missionary group than a modern relief organization.

relief package n.

ΚΠ

1889 N.Y. Times 4 June 2/1 The Baltimore and Ohio will carry all relief packages free.

2003 Daily Tel. 26 Feb. 11/7 Relief packages for up to a million people and containing blankets, water containers and essential medicines have been ‘prepositioned’ in four Gulf countries.

relief party n.

ΚΠ

1776 J. Thacher Jrnl. 4 Mar. in Mil. Jrnl. Amer. Revolutionary War (1823) 46 At about four o'clock our regiment followed to the heights of Dorchester, as a relief party.

1854 Times 10 Nov. 6/6 At 9 at night the trenches were opened by 1,600 workmen, divided into relief parties.

1995 E. E. Werner Pioneer Children on Journey West i. 13 They had hoped to organize a relief party and return for the women and children.

relief programme n.

ΚΠ

1873 Freeman's Jrnl. (Dublin) 5 June 6/3 The relief programme is not likely to be ready for another month at the least.

2005 R. H. Brown in G. Junne & W. Verkoren Postconflict Devel. vi. 103 Part of the urgent relief program..was the recommissioning of Kosovo A & B Power Stations.

relief teacher n.

ΚΠ

1898 Independent (Massillon, Ohio) 1 Sept. Miss Florence Landon..has been offered a position as relief teacher in the State Industrial School for Girls.

1987 Evening Post (Wellington, N.Z.) 17 Dec. 9 The employment of relief teachers..was confirmed.

2005 D. McWilliams Pope's Children xx. 238 Canvassing for better school facilities, books and relief teachers.

relief team n.

ΚΠ

1858 Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Jrnl. 11 Mar. 1/6 Sir John accomplished the ascent to the plains by means of two relief teams of oxen.

1900 Times 9 Apr. 5/2 The supply of horses was very well managed, and relief teams were ready whenever they were needed.

1998 P. Gourevitch We wish to inform You xviii. 287 A relief team..had driven up to the Mokoto monastery and found the road blocked by two charred, naked corpses.

relief camp n. (a) a camp for the accommodation of people in need of aid, esp. owing to a natural disaster, war, etc.; (b) chiefly New Zealand and Canadian a camp established by the government to house the unemployed, esp. those participating in work projects (now historical); cf. work camp n. (b) at work n. Compounds 3.

ΚΠ

1864 J. Q. Thornton Oregon & Calif. in 1848 II. xi. 162 It was determined to make every provision necessary to relieve both the sufferers and those who had gone to their aid, and to have a relief-camp established at the most eligible point on the route.

1867 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 4 Jan. 107/2 The government are doing everything in their power to provide means to assist the unemployed in and around Brisbane and Ipswich, by the establishment of relief camps.

1932 Weekly News (Auckland) 1 June With the object of providing satisfactory useful work for unemployed men in return for sustenance and a small wage the Government has established relief camps.

1979 Honolulu Advertiser 8 Jan. o1/1 Officials set up relief camps..in the border between two eastern states where tribesmen killed 50 villagers.

1995 Our Times Aug.–Sept. 27/2 Discontent was heating up right across Canada. The federal government's answer was to set up isolated relief camps to keep the unemployed men out of sight.

2008 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 19 June a12/5 The stranded residents were scattered among relief camps and improvised shelters.

relief duty n. †(a) payment, or a payment, made as a relief (sense 1a) (obsolete); (b) service as a substitute or relief.

ΚΠ

a1768 J. Erskine Inst. Law Scotl. (1773) I. ii. v. §50 The sums due to the crown for the nonentry and relief duties.

1814 Gen. Rep. Agric. State & Polit. Circumstances Scotl. I. ii. 188 The superior was entitled to a year's rent (relief-duty it was called) for relieving the estate from the hand of the superior.

1849 D. Ottinger Rep. 21 May in H. R. Rep. 35th U.S. Congr. 1 Session Doc. No. 403 (1868) 6 These fenders..would..give the men..increased confidence in boarding vessels at sea when on ‘relief duty’.

1914 St. Nicholas Oct. 1068/2 The hardest part of relief duty is being forced to go in at a moment's notice, without being properly warmed up.

2008 Boston Globe (Nexis) 9 Sept. d2 With Chris Carpenter limited to relief duty the rest of the season, the St. Louis Cardinals may be calling on their ace to get the final outs.

relief pallet n. Music a pallet (pallet n.³ 3) which relieves excessive strain from the keys of an organ.

ΚΠ

1880 C. A. Edwards Organs ii. iii. 52 Perhaps the most simple and ingenious of these peculiar pallets is one termed the relief pallet.

2006 L. A. Dobson et al. in D. E. Bush & R. Kassel Organ 9/2 The earliest such device was the relief pallet, a small pallet that opened first to break the air seal on the larger pallet, thus relieving the heavy pluck.

relief pitcher n. Baseball a pitcher who takes over from another pitcher during a game, esp. one who regularly performs this role; cf. reliever n. 1d.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > baseball player > [noun] > pitcher

pitcher1845

relief pitcher1884

southpaw1887

side-wheeler1890

moundsman1906

pretzel bender1908

starter1911

sidewinder1913

low-ball pitcher1915

fastballer1924

route-goer1924

reliever1925

hurler1926

fireballer1928

spitballer1928

screwballer1929

stopper1948

closer1980

middleman1985

1884 Sat. Rev. (E. Liverpool & Wellsville, Ohio) 31 May James Johnson..left Monday for Johnstown, Pa., having accepted a situation with the base ball club of that city as catcher and relief pitcher.

1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 16 June 1– c/4 Fingers..compiled a 1.35 earned run average in 16 World series appearances and was generally recognized as the American League's No. 1 relief pitcher.

2006 J. Adler Baseball Hacks 305 For a middle relief pitcher, there is little chance to get wins, losses, and saves.

relief road n. (a) a road constructed to provide occupation and payment for the unemployed (now rare); (b) British a road designed to divert traffic from congested areas, esp. a road that takes traffic around, rather than through, an urban area.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > [noun] > for wheeled vehicles > relief road

relief road1874

1847 Times 22 Jan. 7 Irish relief works... I send you a statement of a relief road job going on within sight of my windows.]

1874 Times 14 Apr. 12 The principal relief road, at the Durbunga end of which some 36,000 men, woman, and children are employed.

1901 Times 13 Sept. 4/4 One method of providing such relief roads would be by by-laws providing that all building estates should set aside land for main roads.

1999 Birmingham Post (Nexis) 5 Nov. 4 There will be a relief road which will improve the flow of traffic.

relief roll n. North American a list or register of people receiving relief (sense 5a), esp. from the state.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social attitudes > philanthropy > [noun] > poor-relief > list of recipients of

poor roll1580

poor book1662

relief roll1829

1829 Christian Watchman 7 Aug. 127/1 His name is to be struck off the relief roll.

1870 A. Sandham Ville-Marie ii. v. 301 All applicants for the first time are visited before relief is extended... The number of families on the relief roll is 531.

1938 Sun (Baltimore) 16 Apr. 8 The President himself has said that road building will ‘take very few people off the relief rolls’... Spending should be limited to relief.

1999 D. M. Kennedy Freedom from Fear vi. 164 Studies showed that one-fifth of all the people on the federal relief rolls were black.

relief ticket n. now chiefly historical (in early use) a small sum of money given to alleviate hardship; (later) a ticket or voucher enabling a person to claim relief.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > grants and allowances > [noun] > payments to assist poor

relief1438

soldier money1593

relief ticket1830

1830 Times 23 Nov. 2/5 The number of relief-tickets afforded from the above subscription was 4,548.

1848 United Irishman 20 May 224/2 Millions of men, who toiled their lives through from morning to night, found at length they had no rights but a right to public alms, and had realized, with all their toiling, nothing but the chance of a relief-ticket.

1976 J. O'Connor Eleventh Commandment i. 21 He got a bit of beer money and came away laughing; relief tickets, they call them, and worth a couple of quid... The shops that took relief tickets would always overcharge the working class.

1991 J. Marriott Culture of Labourism iv. 151 The daily, petty humiliations of survival—obtaining food with relief tickets, pawning possessions, confronting the rent collector.

relief train n. (a) a train transporting aid, medical supplies, etc., to an area affected by war, famine, natural disaster, etc. (b) a train providing supplementary or replacement transport, esp. (chiefly British) additional public transport at times of high demand; cf. Compounds 3.

ΚΠ

1852 Huron Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio) 3 Aug. A relief train consisting of eight wagons,..had been sent to meet the overland emigrants and furnish them the aid they need.

1872 Times 24 Dec. 5/5 A relief train leaves Newcastle at 5.20... The ordinary train leaves 15 minutes later, and is usually on a Saturday night very heavily laden with passengers.

1904 Booklovers' Mag. May 663 It is a relief train, ready to respond to any call for aid in case of accident.

1994 N.Y. Times 15 Aug. a15/3 During a peak in Sudan's 187–88 famine, they turned a blind eye to..use of relief trains for military goods.

2005 Jrnl. (Newcastle) (Nexis) 15 Nov. 5 There will be a small number of trains that will run to and from Cardiff that weekend... We're not going to be in a position to run a relief train.

relief valve n. a valve serving to relieve pressure in a system when it becomes too high by opening to allow the escape of gas, water, steam, etc.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > control(s) > [noun] > valve > others

washer1596

turncock1702

air cock1709

Jack-in-the-box1728

runner1754

stop-valve1829

three-way cock1838

ball valve1839

relief valve1846

poppet valve1851

plunger valve1854

pot-lid1856

reflux valve1857

screw-down1864

mica valve1880

tide flap1884

tube-valve1884

swing-tap1892

relay valve1894

Schrader1895

pilot valve1900

mixer valve1904

spool valve1908

spill valve1922

safety valving1930

three-way1939

1846 L. Herbert Engineer's & Mechanic's Encycl. II. 686 The brass bearings are fixed in a boss in the centre of the beam; m the air-pump; n the foot-valve..r the connexion with the relief valve.

1919 L. H. Morrison Oil Engines xii. 206 As a safeguard, the discharge line should be equipped with an oil separator and relief valve.

1991 Chem. Engineer 13 June 28/2 If your water curtains, fire pumps, relief valves, and so on are not adequately maintained they may fail when they are needed.

relief well n. a hole drilled to intersect an oil or gas well in which there is a fire or blowout, so as to provide a route for water or mud to stop it.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > drilling for oil or gas > [noun] > hole drilled

test-hole1909

relief well1914

slim hole1953

1914 Moberly (Missouri) Daily Monitor 22 Jan. 1/1 A relief well was first bored close to the old well.

1939 D. Hager Fund. Petroleum Industry ix. 222 The relief well was deflected so that it reached the burning hole at a depth of 7046 ft.

1991 New Scientist 23 Mar. 21/3 Drilling a relief well can take more than a month, which is one reason why fire fighters avoid using them.

relief work n. (a) work provided by the authorities or state for occupying and paying the unemployed; (also) a project providing this; (b) charitable work intended to bring relief to those affected by poverty, famine, drought, etc.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > work > [noun] > other types of work

church worka1225

kirk work1418

fieldwork1441

labour of love1592

life's work1660

shop work1696

outwork1707

private practice1724

tide-work1739

sales-work1775

marshing1815

work in progress1815

life-work1837

relief work1844

sharp practice1847

near work1850

slop-work1861

repetition work1866

side work1875

rework1878

wage-slavery1886

work in progress1890

war work1891

busywork1893

screen work1912

staff-work1923

gig work1927

knowledge work1959

WIP1966

telework1970

playwork1986

laboratory work2002

1844 Times 24 June 6/2 The surveyor of the roads..offering to able-bodied applicants for relief work on the roads at the full current rate of wages.

1879 Good Words 20 495/2 There is another young engineer superintending his dam, a relief work about two miles long.

1921 Z. Grey Call of Canyon (1924) i. 6 Carley had gone in for Red Cross and relief work with more of sincerity than most of her set.

1978 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 4 Sept. 7/4 Workers who have lost their jobs..are required to enter retraining programs... If thereafter they still cannot find a job, they are assigned to publicly financed relief work.

2005 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 24 July ii. 7/2 In an organized fashion that has evolved over years of relief work, aid workers distribute food to the thousands..of internally displaced populations.

relief worker n. (a) a person who works for financial assistance or relief, esp. under some state scheme; (b) a person who works to bring relief to those affected by poverty, famine, drought, etc.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social attitudes > philanthropy > [noun] > charitableness or alms-giving > charitable person or almsgiver > professional charity worker

relief worker1878

fundraiser1881

philanthropoid1937

1878 R. Knight Sir George Couper & Famine in North-West Provinces 4 The early symptoms of famine are quite unmistakable to those accustomed to witness them, and I have no hesitation in saying that they exist in the relief-workers near Agra.

1922 B. Hecht 1001 Afternoons in Chicago 240 Sholom Ash, who wrote this play, spent a time in villages abroad as a Jewish relief worker.

1974 R. A. Caro Power Broker iv. xx. 370 If this method disposed of malingerers and malcontents, it nonetheless proved difficult to whip the relief workers..into an efficient work force.

2002 Church Times 20 Sept. 5/1 Missionaries and relief workers have fled the Nyankunde area of the Congo.

C2.

a. Of, belonging, or relating to the Relief movement (see sense 9b), as Relief minister, Relief presbytery, Relief synod, etc.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > other clergy > [noun] > Relief church

Relief minister1767

1767 Scots Mag. 29 499/1 Three more ministers have been settled in Relief Congregations.

1768 Scots Mag. 30 277 A sentence was pronounced against Mr. William Cruden,..now Relief minister at Glasgow.

1821 J. Galt Ayrshire Legatees vii. 198 The inflamed gout of polemical controversy..had gumfiated every mental joint and member of that zealous prop of the Relief Kirk.

1837 J. R. McCulloch Statist. Acct. Brit. Empire II. iv. viii. 428 The Relief Synod..now comprehends 10 presbyteries including 107 congregations.

1897 J. Wright Scenes Sc. Life 37 James was a faithful member of the ‘Relief body’.

1978 W. L. Lingle & J. W. Kuykendall Presbyterians (rev. ed.) iv. 45 In 1900 the Free Church of Scotland joined the United Presbyterian Church, itself a merger of the Relief Synod with other smaller groups.

2005 Fife Free Press (Nexis) 9 Sept. The plate is dated 1771 and the group has scriptures which suggest a relief Kirk..formed in Cupar a year earlier.

Relief Church n. a church arising from the Relief movement (see sense 9b).

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > sect > Christianity > Protestantism > Presbyterianism > Presbyterian sects and groups > [noun] > relief > collective

relief1767

Relief Church1767

1767 Scots Mag. 29 499/1 At the Relief Church at Edinburgh.

1832 Church Patronage Reporter June 20 [A] population of 500,000 belonging to the Secession and Relief Churches alone.

1911 Eng. Hist. Rev. 26 588 He was joined by others, and in course of time the Relief Church, as it was called, came to number 113 congregations.

1962 G. S. Pryde New. Hist. Sc. 268 In direct competition with the parish schools stood about 350 schools belonging to the Relief and Secession Churches.

1994 Albion 26 61 Two years later a Relief Church was built in the town with Boston as its minister.

C3. attributive. Designating a vehicle that provides replacement or supplementary transport, esp. (chiefly British) additional public transport at times of high demand (cf. sense 10).Recorded earliest in relief train n. (b) at Compounds 1b.

ΚΠ

1872Relief train [see relief train n. at Compounds 1b].

1887 R. Kipling Lett. Marque in From Sea to Sea (1899) I. 46 The axle was smashed... There was absolutely not one single relief vehicle on the whole road between Chitor and Udaipur.

1910 System Sept. 333 To accommodate the greater number of people who use trains during stormy weather, the traffic controller..puts into operation the ‘storm service’, consisting of ten additional trains an hour and ‘relief coaches’.

1926 N.Y. Times 7 Nov. x. 20/2 Should an axle break, or a gasket burn out when the bus is too far away from home for quick arrival of a relief bus.

1964 Pop. Sci. Jan. 148/2 Controllers can check schedules remotely, send out relief buses when delays occur.

1967 Times 11 Apr. 17/3 It had been rescheduled by B.O.A.C. as a ‘relief’ service to cope with heavy overbooking on the regular flight.

1983 Guardian 30 Nov. 2/3 The train..was a relief service to avoid congestion for ordinary passengers.

2009 Birmingham (Alabama) News (Nexis) 28 Apr. 1 b A relief bus was sent to the scene to take the uninjured passengers to their destination.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

reliefn.³

Brit.

/rᵻˈliːf/, U.S.

/rəˈlif/,

/riˈlif/

Forms:

α. 1600s releaue, 1600s releave, 1600s releiue, 1600s releue, 1600s relieue, 1600s–1800s relieve.

β. 1600s reliefe, 1600s– relief.

Origin: Probably of multiple origins. Probably partly a borrowing from Italian. Partly a borrowing from French. Etymons: Italian rilievo, relevo, relievo; French relief.

Etymology: Probably originally (in α. forms) < Italian rilievo, †relevo, †relievo relievo n.¹; subsequently (in β. forms) < French relief fact of jutting out or projecting from a background (1544 in Middle French with reference to the contours of a person's mouth), moulding, carving, stamping, etc., in which the design stands out from a plane surface, also that part of a work of art which so projects (both 1547, originally with reference to sculpture), representation of solidity in two dimensions (1547 with reference to architectural drawings, 1577 with reference to painting), a composition, design, or work of art in which the design stands out from the surface (1571), vividness, distinctness, or prominence due to contrast or method of presentation (1637), extent to which the top of a fortification rises above the ditch (1830), manner or degree of variation in elevation of a part of the surface of the earth (1831) < relever relieve v., after Italian rilievo . Alternatively, it is possible that French relief may be the sole etymon, the α. forms arising by early association of the noun with relieve v. (compare forms at that entry, and also similar variation between forms with voiceless and forms with voiced fricative in relief n.²). Compare earlier relief n.¹, relief n.², and slightly later relievo n.¹ Compare also earlier relieve v. III.Compare Spanish relievo (late 16th cent.; < Italian or French), Dutch reliëf (1659 as relief ; < French), early modern German relievo (c1650; < Italian), German Relief (18th cent.; < French). With to bring into relief (see sense 2c) compare French mettre en relief, in same sense (1793).

a. Moulding, carving, stamping, etc., in which the design stands out from a plane surface so as to have a natural and solid appearance. Also: work done in this way; the part which so projects.Sometimes with modifying word specifying the degree of projection: see high relief n. 1, low relief n., bas-relief n.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > [noun] > relief

relief1606

relievo1610

relevy1646

α.

1606 B. Jonson Hymenaei 646 Two great Statues..bearing vp the Cloudes, which were of Releue, embossed, and tralucent, as Naturalls.

1634 T. Carew Cœlum Britanicum 1 A great vaze of gold, richly enchased, and beautified with Sculptures of great Releiue.

1781 Young Gentleman & Lady's Philos. (ed. 3) II. 283 One would expect to see the Intaglio concave in a higher Degree; whereas, on the contrary, it is so much more a Cameo, or the Relieve in Proportion higher.

β. 1662 J. Evelyn Sculptura v. 119 In bold, or faint touches; so as may best express the Reliefe.a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. iii. 539 You find the figures of many ancient Coins rising up in a much more beautiful relief than those on the modern.1758 R. Dossie Handmaid to Arts I. iii. iv. 380 Freeing all the cavities and hollow parts from the priming, which may..injure the relief of the carving.1879 H. Phillips Addit. Notes upon Coins 4 A remarkable difference exists between ancient and modern coins, the former being of extremely bold execution and high relief.1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 646/1 The relief [on the carved wooden doors] is very low, except where occasionally a monster's head projects from the general level.1908 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 305/2 The degree of relief varies..from the lowest possible to that highest relief which nearly approaches sculpture in the round.1974 W. Cahn Romanesque Wooden Doors Auvergne ii. 26 In the more conventional productions, the treatment of relief in wood sculpture does not differ from the procedure observed in stone.2008 Edmond (Oklahoma) Sun (Nexis) 4 Oct. The heaviest object, a marble sarcophagus,..is heavily decorated with carved relief.

b. A composition, design, or work of art executed in this manner.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > [noun] > relief > article executed in

embossment1620

relievo1627

relief1675

stamping1862

tondo1877

1675 Ld. Chamberlain's Warrant 25 Jan. in E. Boswell Restoration Court Stage (1932) 236 Relieues repr[e]sentinge ye Prosspect of Somersett House & ye Thames.

1682 G. Wheler Journey into Greece v. 381 In a Relieve below the cornish..is a Triumphal Chariot.

1745 R. Pococke Descr. East II. ii. 249 An altar..with two reliefs on it.

1773 Ann. Reg. 1772 ii. 131/2 They used reliefs sometimes with profusion; as in the Saxon or Norman gateway at Bury.

c1820 S. Rogers Fountain in Italy 3 Richly wrought with many a high relief.

1834 E. Bulwer-Lytton Last Days of Pompeii I. i. i. 5 Upon its surface of bronze were elaborately wrought..reliefs of the Olympian games.

1875 C. D. E. Fortnum Maiolica viii. 68 Some pieces with reliefs and imitation Chinese marks also occur.

1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 381/1 Some fragments of the reliefs which adorned the pedestal are in the museum at Athens.

1965 Minneapolis Tribune 21 Mar. (Arts section) 1/4 His work evolved into the..aluminium reliefs that represent his latest effort.

2007 I. McDonald Brasyl 190 Every inch of the basilica was covered in carved, painted reliefs.

c. in relief: in the manner of relief; so as to stand out as (a) relief. Frequently with modifying word, as in high (or middle, low, etc.) relief. [Probably ultimately after Italian in rilievo (see in relievo at relievo n.¹ Phrases); compare French en relief (1606 or earlier; after Italian). With in high relief compare French en haut-relief (see haut-relief n.) and alto-relievo n. With in low relief compare French en bas-relief (see bas-relief n.) and basso-relievo n. With in middle relief compare mezzo-relievo n.]

ΚΠ

1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. lxi. 94 The Castle with three Towers, and the Eagle of stone in relief [Fr. l'aigle de pierre releuez en bosse], which are the Arms of the Justiniani Genoese Lords.

1691 J. Ray Wisdom of God 68 Pillars and Statues and other carved works in relieve.

1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture II. 16/2 Mosaic work in relieve.

1782 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting (ed. 3) II. iii. 243 A wreath of enamelled flowers in relief, executed by Giles Legare.

1820 T. S. Hughes Trav. Sicily I. i. 19 In the pediment..of the eastern portico was sculptured in high relief the..Assault of Heaven by the Titans.

1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 215 The face of the block..is carved in relief into the desired design.

1867 H. M. Westropp Handbk. Archæol. ii. 274 It is considered the finest work in relief extant.

1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVII. p. xix The profiled figures in low relief.

1962 E. McCune Arts of Korea iii. ix. 169 An eye-pleasing double band and circular floral pattern carved in middle relief.

1996 M. Torelli in Cambr. Anc. Hist. (ed. 2) X. xx. iii. 952 The only important work in relief in the city of Rome was the temple of the Divine Augustus.

2. In extended use.

a. Representation of solidity in two dimensions; the appearance of detachment of figures, etc., from a background by an arrangement of line, colour, or shading on a plane surface. Also: an example of this. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > relief and texture > [noun] > appearance or representation of relief

projection1619

relievo1685

relief1699

modelling1865

1699 tr. H. de Blancourt Art of Glass ix. cci. 269 Those Figures before the Year 1500, had not half the sufficiency of Base, or Relief, as is required in Painting.

1702 A. Forbes tr. B. Lamy Treat. Perspective viii. 157 It is not the Colours alone that makes the Relief, but the Strokes of the Pencil, when they are done by the Rules of Perspective.

1789 P. Smyth tr. H. Aldrich Archit. (1818) 28 The painted cornices still of a relief that deceived every unapprized spectator.

1797 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 60/1 Relief, in painting, is the degree of boldness with which the figures seem, at a due distance, to stand out from the ground of the painting.

1856 D. Brewster Stereoscope ii. 46 The effect with which the artist gives relief to the painting exercises its whole effect in deceiving us.

1995 UNESCO Courier (Nexis) 1 July 41 The paintings of Tintoretto, Rubens and Delacroix..[with] their daring angles of view, their dramatic handling of relief, chiaroscuro and surfaces that twist and turn.

b. Distinctness of outline due to contrast of colour; an instance of this.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > visibility > [noun] > state of being clearly visible > sharpness or definition > due to contrast

projection1619

relief1776

pluck1889

1776 S. Neville Diary 25 May (1950) x. 244 Saw the 4th Regt..reviewed... Their black Trumpeters are a kind of relief (as the painters speak) to the other men.

1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. II. 81 A church with its dark spire in strong relief against the clear cold sky.

1875 C. Clery Minor Tactics ii. 21 To prevent their being seen in relief against the sky line.

1917 Theatre Arts Mag. Aug. 195 A group of figures merely stand out in relief against a lighted curtain.

1992 Artibus Asiae Supplementum 38 317/1 Trees..throwing out denuded branches in sharp relief against the backgrounds.

c. figurative and in figurative context. Vividness, distinctness, or prominence due to contrast or method of presentation. Frequently as to throw (or bring, etc.) into relief.

ΚΠ

1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 218 His evidence,..For want of prominence and just relief, Would hang an honest man.

1854 T. De Quincey Autobiogr. Sketches in Select. Grave & Gay II. 178 The combination of worldly prosperity..forced into strong relief and fiery contrast this curse written in the flesh.

1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 53 The horrors perpetrated by the Carthaginians..are brought out into full relief by Diodorus.

1889 Harper's Mag. July 220/2 Margaret and Miss Arbuser were ushered in through a double row of servants in livery..an array necessary to bring into relief the naturalness and simplicity of the entertainers.

1922 L. H. Wild Lit. Guide Bible 187 The solemn sadness of Psalm ninety is set in strong relief by the sunny brightness of happy, perfect trust in the Divine protection.

1991 K. Jones Learning not to be First ix. 103 Lizzie became pregnant, and the sickly young woman's fecundity threw Christina's own barrenness into stark relief.

a. Fortification. The extent to which the top of a fortification rises above the ditch. Now historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > earthwork or rampart > [noun] > parapet > difference in height between parapet and ditch

relief1830

1830 J. S. Macaulay Treat. Defilement 7 The maximum of relief for the parapets of field fortifications is twelve feet.

1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) I. 104/2 The relief is the difference of level between the crest of the parapet and the bottom of the ditch.

1914 Notes Field Fortif. (Kansas Army Service Schools) i. 22 To enable the rifleman to fire down hill conveniently the relief of the parapet should be less than in the normal case.

1976 J. F. Luzader et al. Fort Stanwix iii. v. 142 It served to extend the exterior slope of the ramparts without adding height to the construction relief of the works.

b. Physical Geography. The manner or degree of variation in elevation of a part of the surface of the earth (or other planetary body).

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > [noun] > relief

relief1836

microrelief1926

1836 J. H. Alexander & J. T. Ducatel Rep. New Map Maryland 30 There has been introduced..the system of horizontal planes..exhibiting to an eye but a little familiarized the contour and relief of the ground.

1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) xvii. 299 The observer would find bolder reliefs than he has met with in the Thames valley in the almost mountainous hills of Wales.

1901 Science 15 Mar. 408/2 Close to the terminator, or sunrise line.., the eye overestimates the relief and sees the topography as grossly exaggerated as some of the published sketches of lunar mountains.

1952 F. J. Monkhouse Maps & Diagrams ii. 63 Since the earliest days of map-making, the depiction of relief has been one of the major problems of cartographers.

1977 A. Hallam Planet Earth 55/1 Dunes range..in size from structures with a relief of about 30 cm..up to forms several tens of metres high.

1990 Technol. Rev. Nov. 10/1 Some scientists have said the sharp relief of many mountains suggests these areas have recently grown.

Compounds

C1. General attributive (chiefly in sense 1).

relief carving n.

ΚΠ

1856 J. C. Robinson Catal. Soulages Coll. xiv. 177 The ornamentation forms a continued frieze of the richest and most elaborate relief carving.

1892 E. Rowe Hints on Chip-carving 60 In relief-carving the teaching must be individual, and consequently fewer students can be taught by one teacher.

1999 Metrop. Mus. Art Bull. 57 16/2 The relief carvings of the portal depict the martyrdom of Saint Denis.

relief construction n.

ΚΠ

1898 Geogr. Jrnl. 12 406 These relief constructions on large scales are the necessary complement to the lesser globes.

1962 Times 28 Feb. 5/1 At the same gallery Mr. Michael Rothenstein shows a small collection of his new relief-constructions.

1998 Providence (Rhode Island) Jrnl.-Bull. (Nexis) 4 June 5 d Many tiles also contained original designs and relief constructions of birds, flowers, boats and fish.

relief decoration n.

ΚΠ

1856 J. C. Robinson Catal. Wks. Decorative Art circulated in Provinc. Schools of Art 31 This..ware was contemporaneous with that just described, and precisely the same style of relief decoration is employed.

1960 Connoisseur's Handbk. Antique Coll. 236/1 There are various ways of producing relief decoration: by freehand modelling, free-incising or piercing or, more frequently, by pressing soft clay in plaster moulds.

2003 National Art Coll. Fund Rev. 2002 50/3 The most striking feature is the relief decoration..representing two olive fronds knotted together at the base.

relief panel n.

ΚΠ

1884 Harper's Mag. Feb. 350/2 (caption) Decorative relief panel.

1937 Burlington Mag. Feb. 59/2 The relief-panels of the Pisa pulpit.

1999 S. L. Kasfir Contemp. Afr. Art vi. 189 A series of relief panels made from narrow vertical strips of wood..on which designs are burned in.

relief portion n.

ΚΠ

1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 1162 The protuberant or relief portion of the die.

1953 Jrnl. Criminal Law, Criminol. & Police Sci. 44 384 We pass over the relief portion of the stamp a small rubber roller charged with ‘an invisible ink’.

2007 Blade (Toledo, Ohio) (Nexis) 16 Aug. Artist Joe Limauro hand-carved a [skateboard] deck with dozens of blocky..arrows, the relief portion painted brown.

relief tablet n. [after German Relieftafel (1820 or earlier)]

ΚΠ

1847 J. Leitch tr. K. O. Müller Ancient Art 482 Relief-tablets, which, with their small figures.., presented a kind of primer of antique sculpture.

1908 Times 11 July 12/3 A relief tablet on the pedestal of the statue commemorated the visit of the King and Queen.

2003 J. Murphy Novelli x. 110 Novelli's works..have either been destroyed or displaced over the years, as was the case with a pair of relief tablets in the Fordham Hospital.

C2.

relief block n. Printing a block (block n. 11) from which parts of the lettering or design are cut away, leaving the parts that will print standing up in relief.

ΚΠ

1846 Hogg's Weekly Instructor 1 271/1 The first wooden relief blocks cut in Italy were used in the printing of little devotional books.

1878 W. de W. Abney Treat. Photogr. (1881) 183 Relief-block making is essentially difficult in almost every stage.

1972 J. Ross et al. Compl. Printmaker ii. 122 Next ink the surface of the relief blocks..using letterpress ink.

2008 Art in Amer. (Nexis) 1 Oct. Composed partly of impressions from big relief blocks,..[the print] is..layered with stamped, screenprinted and painted imagery.

relief map n. [after German Relief-Landkarte (1843 or earlier) and (now more usually) Reliefkarte (1822 or earlier)] (originally) a map that represents the elevation of the land by means of a surface embossed or modelled in relief; a topographical model; (in later use also) a map that represents the relief of the land by a system of colouring, shading, contour lines, etc.

ΚΠ

1831 Q. Jrnl. Educ. 1 190 This method of Kummer has been applied by him both to globes and to flat surfaces, or relief-maps (Relief-Erdkugeln und Landkarten), of various sizes.

1855 C. S. Cartée Elements Physical & Polit. Geogr. 5 Relief maps and relief globes, such as are so beautifully and accurately manufactured in Germany.., furnish the best means..for imparting right ideas of the earth's surface.

1880 ‘M. Twain’ Tramp Abroad xxxiii. 358 He showed us the whole thing, on a relief-map.

1905 Bull. Amer. Geogr. Soc. 37 761 Darling's Laboratory Manual..includes, in addition to the text, relief maps of the continents.

1971 R. W. Purton Let's look at Maps & Mapmaking 16 It is possible to buy relief maps moulded in plastic, on which the physical features are raised as..on a model.

1992 New Scientist 21 Nov. 19/1 The result is a computer relief map known as a digital elevation model.

2004 G. Woodward I'll go to Bed at Noon xi. 207 A relief map, under glass, of Windhover Hill and environs before their suburbanization.

relief plate n. a printing plate having the parts to be printed raised in relief.

ΚΠ

1854 Chambers's Information for People (new ed.) I. 258/2 By thus using the relief plate again and again, we may obtain any number of engraved copper plates.

a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 749/2 Joyce's method of producing relief-plates for printing.

1995 Huntington Libr. Q. 58 296 Relief plates were printed with less pressure and did not leave pronounced platemarks.

relief polish n. Materials Science relief polishing; the condition of a surface brought about by this.

ΚΠ

1908 Bi-monthly Bull. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers Nov. 979 The best results are obtained by..relief polish, though etching is an aid to be employed in certain instances.

1933 R. H. Greaves & H. Wrighton Pract. Microsc. Metallogr. (ed. 2) xiv. 237 Relief polish is obtained..so that micro-constituents are visible under the microscope.

2002 R. E. Chinn Ceramography v. 47/3 (table) Other etching methods... Relief polish with 0.05 μm Al₂O₃.

relief-polish v. Materials Science transitive to subject to relief polishing.

ΚΠ

1896 Stevens Indicator 13 202 It at first retains a dull polish..when relief polished.

1968 E. Stach in Murchison & Westoll Coal & Coal-Bearing Strata i. 4 Nowadays coals are normally relief-polished and then examined under vertically incident light using immersion objectives.

2000 Materials Sci. & Engin. A. 286 226/2 The samples for SEM analysis were relief-polished.

relief polishing n. Materials Science the abrasive polishing of the surface of a non-uniform material, so that softer constituents are mechanically worn away leaving harder constituents standing out in relief.

ΚΠ

1896 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. 49 488 On beginning relief-polishing ferrite gives a dead polish, which under subsequent treatment becomes granular.

1924 R. H. Greaves & H. Wrighton Pract. Microsc. Metallogr. vi. 48 Both ‘relief polishing’ and ‘polish attack’ may be used to display the microstructure of steels containing cementite.

2003 Jrnl. Arthroplasty 18 727/1 These testing conditions..produce wear by relief polishing of the ceramic grains.

relief print n. a print made using a relief process.

ΚΠ

1855 National Mag. June 546/1 It was split in two, giving the relief prints on one side, and the intaglio on the other.

1924 Bull. Metrop. Mus. Art 19 74/2 The work of the Rhenish school is exemplified by two quite remarkable relief prints.

2005 Austral. Financial Rev. (Sydney) 22 Sept. 44/1 The older medium, woodcut, is a relief print. Every line on the print represents a narrow ridge of wood.

relief printing n. printing from raised images, as in letterpress printing, block printing, woodcut printing, etc.

ΚΠ

1842 Penny Cycl. XXIV. 451/2 In 1707 he presented to the Bank of England a specimen note, produced by block or relief printing.

1875 tr. H. W. Vogel Chem. Light & Photogr. xv. 245 It appears that the relief-printing gives the shades and dark parts better.

1976 E. Rhein Art of Print Making 69 In relief printing it is the raised parts of the printing block which receive the printing ink—usually from a roller pushed over the surface.

2008 Internet Bookwatch (Nexis) 1 Nov. [From] the early years of relief printing which includes woodcuts, and moveable metal type, to today's digital processes.

relief process n. any of various printing processes (as letterpress printing, block printing, etc.) in which the area to be printed is raised above the surrounding background.In quot. 1871 short for photo-relief process: see photo-relief n. at photo- comb. form 2b.

ΚΠ

1871 Edinb. Rev. Apr. 342 The photograph..which the relief process is intended to preserve.

1889 Cent. Dict. (at word) Relief processes, those processes in mechanical or ‘process’ engraving by which are produced plates or blocks with raised lines.

1965 C. Zigrosser & C. M. Gaehde Guide to Collecting Orig. Prints iv. 53 Relief processes, a general term that includes woodcuts, wood engravings, linoleum cuts, [etc.].

2006 School Arts (Nexis) 1 May 26 The linoleum print is a relief process. Students..carve their designs into the linoleum and the raised surface is inked to create imprints.

relief stamp n. a stamp engraved or carved in relief and used to impress a design; (also) a design made with this.

ΚΠ

1852 T. Antisell Hand-bk. Useful Arts in Putnam's Home Cycl. III. 90/1 Every drawing on the metal plate is completely exact on the relieve stamp.

1890 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 630/2 Another method of [ceramic] decoration was by incised patterns, impressed from relief-stamps.

1901 Rep. U.S. Nat. Museum 1899 519 A relief stamp representing a coat of arms is placed above the band.

2008 Chicago Sun Times (Nexis) 19 July (Features section) 20 Art materials included magazines..and stickers for kids to make a collage... Saturday's scheduled activity is relief stamps and prints.

relief stamper n. now historical a person employed in stamping engraved or embossed designs, esp. on stationary.

ΚΠ

1864 W. Crisp Printers' Bus. Guide 64 Phillips, R., relief stamper, 60, Judd-street.

1912 in M. Bloomfield Readings in Vocational Guidance (1915) 673 Women earning over 20s. were found amongst folders, sewers, numberers, gold layers-on, relief stampers, and black borderers.

1990 S. Reynolds in E. Gordon & E. Breitenbach World Ill Divided iii. 51 In stationery, which employed a good many women, they worked as envelope-makers, relief-stampers,..black-borderers, and paper bag or box makers.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	relief
释义	† reliefn.¹ Forms: Middle English relef, Middle English releff, Middle English releif, Middle English releue, Middle English releve, Middle English relif, Middle English relyef, Middle English relyf, Middle English relyfe, Middle English relyue, Middle English–1500s releef, Middle English–1500s relefe, Middle English–1500s releffe, Middle English–1500s relief, 1500s releafe, 1500s releefe, 1500s releues (plural), 1500s reliefe; Scottish pre-1700 releef, pre-1700 releif, pre-1700 releyff, pre-1700 relif. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French releef, relief. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman releef, releff, relif, Anglo-Norman and Old French relef, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French relief (French relief , chiefly in plural) remains of food left after a meal (c1050), remainder, residue (late 12th cent. in Anglo-Norman; the specific sense 1c is apparently not paralleled in French until later (1564), and senses 1a, 1d not at all) < relever relieve v. (in its specific sense ‘to lift up, to remove’); the French noun is thus etymologically identical to relief , relef , etc. relief n.²Compare Old Occitan releu , Catalan relleu (13th cent. as †releu ; now regional), Spanish relieve (1251; chiefly in plural relieves ; now archaic), Italian rilievo (a1288; now archaic or literary; also as †rilevo , †relievo ), all originally and chiefly in sense 2, and Middle Dutch relief , relif remainder, (specifically) remains of food left after a meal (both late 13th cent.). Although in early use the English word often translates classical Latin reliquiae (plural) (see reliquiae n.), neither relief n.¹ nor its French etymon are etymologically related to the Latin plural noun. Obsolete. As a mass noun or in plural. 1. a. That which is left or given up by a person. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > relinquishing > casting or laying aside > [noun] > that which is left (behind) relief?c1225 ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 129 Noblemen & wimmen..makeð large relef [a1500 Royal relefe; a1400 Pepys relyf]. a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 74 Auh hwo mei makien largere relef þene ðe..ðet seið mid seinte peter, ecce nos reliquimus omnia? a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Psalms xvi. 14 Thei ben filled with sones; and thei leften her relifis [v.r. relifs ether residue; L. reliquias] to her litle children. b. The remains of a thing; remainder, residue. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] bilevena1325 reliefa1382 residuea1382 remanant?a1400 remanence?a1425 remanent?a1425 remainc1430 remainant1430 rest?1440 remainingc1480 remainer1519 remanet?a1527 remainder1560 resident1581 residuum1636 restancy1667 residual1839 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. x. 19 The releef [L. reliquiae] of the wode of the wilde wode for fewenesse shul be noumbred. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 97 Ierom seiþ þat of þe releef [?a1475 anon. tr. levenges; L. reliquiis] of þis citee were i-buld two grete citees in Persida. c. The remainder, remnant, or surviving portion of a people or group. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] > the rest > of persons lavea1000 the other deal1258 remanantc1330 remnanta1375 reliefa1382 residuea1382 remanent1446 remain1483 remaindera1547 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) Judges xx. 48 Þe sones..of Israel gon oute smytyn wiþ swerd al þe relef [a1425 L.V. remenauntis; L. reliquias] of þe cite, fro men vn to bestis. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 113 (MED) He hadde..i-brouȝt þe relyf [L. reliquias] of Israel and of Iuda out of Egipte. a1425 (c1384) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) Ezek. xxv. 16 Y shal slee the sleers, and Y shal lese the relyues [L. reliquias] of the see cuntree. c1450 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Bodl. 277) (1850) 3 Kings xiv. 10 Relikis or releffis [a1425 Royal Y schal clense the relikis of the hows of Jeroboam; L. reliquias]. 1520 Maundevil's Chron. Eng. iii. 24/2 [Antiochus] tourned to y^e pore releues of y^e Jewes. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. xxvj^v Wednesday the .xxvi. daye of July the releffe of the speres brought in askry. d. The body, or part of the body, of a dead person, esp. a saint; a relic. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > dead body > [noun] lichc893 dust?a1000 holdc1000 bonesOE stiff onea1200 bodyc1225 carrion?c1225 licham?c1225 worms' food or ware?c1225 corsec1250 ashc1275 corpsec1315 carcass1340 murraina1382 relicsa1398 ghostc1400 wormes warec1400 corpusc1440 scadc1440 reliefc1449 martc1480 cadaverc1500 mortc1500 tramort?a1513 hearse1530 bulk1575 offal1581 trunk1594 cadaverie1600 relicts1607 remains1610 mummya1616 relic1636 cold meat1788 mortality1827 death bone1834 deader1853 stiff1859 society > faith > artefacts > portable shrines or relics > relic > [noun] relic?c1225 corsaint1303 reliefc1449 relict1535 c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 114 Placis in whiche holi men han lyued..or in whiche the relifis or the relikis of hem abiden. c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 182 (MED) It is ful resonable..that where the bodi or bonis or eny releef or relik of a Seint mai be had, that it be sett up in a comoun place. 2. The remains of food left after a meal; leavings, scraps. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food otherwise characterized > [noun] > left-over food reliefc1300 ortc1325 broken meatc1384 scrapsa1387 reversionc1450 remissalsc1460 superfluities1483 levet1528 sheet-shaking1543 table crumb1566 relics1576 off-falling1607 analects1623 voiding1680 voidance1740 leftover1866 pot-washings1912 slarts1913 c1300 Ministry & Passion of Christ (Laud) (1873) 21 (MED) Ore louerd het a non riȝt þere To gaderi þat releef in to bascates. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. viii. 3 In to þin ouens & in to þe relyues [L. reliquias] of þi seruantis..schullen gone inne froggis. a1425 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 1900) (1879) VII. 526 For hym was lever that gistes schulde leve relef thanne axe more mete. a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) 4570 (MED) Ye Axen the releff Off hys dyner, on & alle. 1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) lxxx. 110 His wyf broughte hym mete, whiche she gate, and was gyuen to her of the releef of other. 1548 Princess Elizabeth & J. Bale tr. Queen Margaret of Angoulême Godly Medytacyon Christen Sowle f. 18 Pouerte had wetheryd me awaye.., sea kynge to eate the releafe [1582 reliefe] of swyne. 1589 J. Rider Bibliotheca Scholastica 1206 Reliefe after dinner, reliquiæ prandij. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021). reliefn.² Brit. /rᵻˈliːf/, U.S. /rəˈlif/, /riˈlif/ Forms: α. Middle English–1500s relieff, Middle English–1500s relyefe, Middle English–1600s reliefe, Middle English– relief, late Middle English rerelief (transmission error), 1500s relyef, 1500s–1600s relieffe; Scottish pre-1700 reliefe, pre-1700 relieff, pre-1700 1700s– relief; N.E.D. (1906) also records a form late Middle English relyef. β. Middle English releyf, Middle English–1500s releef, Middle English–1500s relef, Middle English–1500s relefe, Middle English–1600s releefe, Middle English–1600s releeff, Middle English–1600s releif, 1500s relaaff, 1500s releafe, 1500s releff, 1500s releffe, 1500s releyfe, 1500s reloeffe, 1500s–1600s releeffe, 1500s–1600s releief, 1500s–1700s releife, 1600s releiefe, 1600s rellefe, 1600s–1700s releiffe; Scottish pre-1700 raleif, pre-1700 raleiff, pre-1700 raleiffe, pre-1700 raleyf, pre-1700 raleyff, pre-1700 releafe, pre-1700 releefe, pre-1700 releeff, pre-1700 releeif, pre-1700 relef, pre-1700 relefe, pre-1700 releff, pre-1700 releffe, pre-1700 releif, pre-1700 releife, pre-1700 releiff, pre-1700 releiffe, pre-1700 releyf, pre-1700 releyff, pre-1700 1700s releef. γ. Middle English releevys (plural), Middle English relyeve, Middle English–1500s releue, Middle English–1500s releve, Middle English–1500s relyue, late Middle English–1500s 1700s relieves (plural), 1500s releaue, 1500s releeve, 1600s relieue, 1600s relieve; Scottish pre-1700 releive, pre-1700 releue, pre-1700 relewe, pre-1700 relieue, pre-1700 relieve, pre-1700 relive. δ. late Middle English relijf, late Middle English–1500s relyf, 1500s relife, 1500s relyfe, 1500s relyff, 1500s relyffe, 1600s reliff; Scottish pre-1700 relif, pre-1700 relife, pre-1700 reliffe, pre-1700 relyfe. Origin: Perhaps of multiple origins. Probably partly a borrowing from French. Probably partly formed within English, by conversion. Perhaps also partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French releef , relief ; relieve v.; Latin relevium. Etymology: Probably partly < Anglo-Norman releef, relef, releff, relif, Anglo-Norman and Middle French relief (French (now hist.) relief ) payment made to the overlord by the heir of a feudal tenant on taking up possession of the vacant estate (1215 or earlier in Anglo-Norman), formal acknowledgement of feudal tenure made by a vassal to a lord (13th cent. in Old French), alleviation (late 14th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman; < relever relieve v.), and partly (especially in later use) < relieve v. In sense 1a perhaps also partly < post-classical Latin relevium relevy n.¹; compare Middle Dutch relief , relif , in same sense (end of the 13th cent.; < Old French; Dutch (now hist.) relief ), and also post-classical Latin relevamentum (see relievement n.), relevatio (see relevation n.). Compare relieving n., and also earlier relief n.¹ Most later senses of the English noun are unparalleled in French, and apparently show either semantic specialization of the earliest sense ‘alleviation’ (probably under the influence of the verb), or conversion from the verb.The usual modern form with final voiceless fricative is perhaps due in part to analogy with such pairs of noun and verb as believe v. vs. belief n., grieve v. vs. grief n., etc., rather than simply to continuation of the (semantically much more restricted) Anglo-Norman and Middle French word, although it is also possible that the French word may simply have been commoner and broader in meaning (particularly in Anglo-Norman) than the surviving attestations suggest. 1. a. Payment made to the overlord by the heir of a feudal tenant on taking up possession of the vacant estate; an instance of this. Now historical (Scottish in later use).The relief varied in value and kind, according to rank and tenure. It was abolished in Scotland in 1914. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > respect > [noun] > manifestation of respect > act of dutiful respect > by vassal reliefa1325 feec1330 society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > payment or service to feudal superior > [noun] > on death of vassal > payment by heir reliefa1325 relevyc1475 relevavith1546 ingressus1706 a1325 Statutes of Realm (2011) i. 3 Ȝif ani eerl, oþer baron,..oþer ani oþer þat holde of hus in chief bi seruice of kniȝt, deie, and wan he deith his heir be of plener age ant sulle helde relief, brouke wel his heritage bi þe holde relief. 1393 in J. Slater Early Scots Texts (Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Edinb.) (1952) No. 26 Saufand to the said lord erle..the warde or the relefe of the said landis. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 214 Of wardes & relefe [Fr. gardes et relefs] þat barons of him held, þer ne was ore of chefe tille him no þing suld ȝeld. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xii. 320 Gif ony deis in this battaill, His air, but ward, releif [1489 Adv. releff], or taill, On the first day his land sall weild. 1503–4 Act 19 Hen. VII c. 15 Preamble Lordes of whom..tenementes be holden in socage [be defrauded] of ther releffes. 1597 J. Skene De Verborum Significatione at Recognition The superiour may recognosce, and reteine the samin [lands] vntil securitie be maid to him for payment of the relieue. 1614 J. Selden Titles of Honor ii. iv. 225 The Heriot was, what the Eorle or Thane paid his Lord..in nature of a Relief. 1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 145 The reliefe of the Countrey man is the best beast that is in his possession; and of him that farmeth his Lands a yeeres rent. 1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. 65 Relief..was before mentioned as incident to every feodal tenure, by way of fine or composition with the lord for taking up the estate. 1776 in W. B. Stonehouse Hist. Isle of Axholme (1839) 144 On surrender, the Lord is not entitled to any heriots or reliefs. 1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) I. 34 The doctrine of reliefs was also adopted from the laws of Normandy. 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scotl. 844 The casualty of relief is a sum exigible from an heir on his entry with the superior. 1874 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. I. ix. 261 The change of the heriot to the relief implies a suspension of ownership, and carries with it the custom of livery of seisin. 1929 Glasgow Herald 27 Dec. 3 The superior..on renewing the grant to the heir of a deceased vassal being entitled to a fine or casualty called ‘relief’. 1985 J. Oxland & R. T. J. Stein Understanding Land Law 15 Lords then began to allow a fee to pass to the heir of the tenant on the latter's death. But a price had to be paid, called a ‘relief’. 2002 D. Iredale & J. Barrett Discovering your Old House (ed. 4) xv. 138 Extents were drawn up describing in detail property descending to an heir, who paid a relief (fee) to inherit. †b. Formal acknowledgement of feudal tenure made by a vassal to a lord. Obsolete. rare (historical in later use). ΚΠ 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. ci. f. cxiiii^v/1 The bysshop..counsayled that euery man shulde be newe sworne, and renewe their releues [Fr. que tous renouuellassent leur relief]. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. clxxxiiii. f. ccxxix^v/2 There the erle of Armynake and the Erle of Rodays made their reliefe and homage to the kynge, acordinge to the custome as other lordes of Fraunce made their relyefe [Fr. La conte darmignac et la conte de rodais du Roy et luy en fist hommage aux vs et aux coustumes que les seigneurs subgectz du roy de France relieuent leurs fiefs]. 1828 P. F. Tytler Hist. Scotl. I. i. 74 No crown-vassal, widow, orphan, or ward of the crown, was to be under the necessity of performing their homage or relief out of the kingdom. 2. a. Alleviation of or deliverance from distress, anxiety, or some other emotional burden; the feeling accompanying this; mental relaxation, release, or reassurance. Also: an instance or cause of this; an occasion which provides such release.See also comic relief n., light relief n. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pleasure > state of being consoled or relieved > [noun] comfort1340 lightness1357 consolationc1374 reliefa1393 the mind > emotion > pleasure > state of being consoled or relieved > [noun] > consolation or relief lightingOE leathc1175 comfort?c1225 solacec1290 solacec1290 lithec1300 comfortingc1320 allegeancec1325 swaging1340 froa1350 releasec1350 consolationc1374 legeancec1390 reliefa1393 comfortationa1400 leathinga1400 swagea1400 allegementa1425 alleviation?a1425 recreation?a1425 refrigery?a1425 lighteningc1425 recomfortc1425 mitigation?1435 recomforting1487 recreancea1500 allevation1502 easement1533 solacy1534 ease1542 cheer1549 assuagement1561 refreshing1561 easing1580 recomfortation1585 recomforture1595 assuage1596 allevement1599 mitification1607 allayment1609 solagement1609 levation1656 solacement1721 solation1757 soulagement1777 consolement1797 de-tension1949 de-tensioning1952 tea and sympathy1953 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vi. 640 Thus for the point of his relief [rhyme lief], The coc which schal his mete arraie [etc.]. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 982 Tho preyde she hir housbond mekely In relief [v.r. releueinge] of hir longe pitous pyne That he wolde praye hir fader..To vouche sauf som day with hym to dyne. c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 233 (MED) I may make sorewe without relijf [rhyme wijf], For filius regis mortuus est. 1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1928) xxxii. 158 They hoped for to haue releue Of theyr impryson whych dyde them so greue. a1547 Earl of Surrey Poems (1964) 19 That man is farre from blisse That doth receive for his relief none other gayn but this. 1601 J. Marston et al. Iacke Drums Entertainm. ii. sig. D4^v Thats the best reliefe: To drowne all care, and ouerwhelme all griefe. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 (1623) iii. iii. 20 Tell thy griefe, It shall be eas'd, if France can yeeld reliefe . View more context for this quotation 1645 J. Milton Sonnet i, in Poems 45 Thou from yeer to yeer hast sung too late For my relief. 1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 1 Apr. (1965) I. 324 She is young and her conversation would be a great releife to me. 1769 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) I. xviii. 121 Railing is usually a relief to the mind. 1781 W. Cowper Truth 455 The soul, reposing on assured relief, Feels herself happy amidst all her grief. 1818 P. B. Shelley Julian & Maddalo 565 I sought relief From the deep tenderness that maniac wrought Within me. 1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. vii. 432 It is a relief to turn from so painful a subject. 1876 E. Mellor Priesthood viii. 372 There is..a great relief in unburdening to a friend the sins and sorrows of one's life. 1946 J. Hersey Hiroshima i. 20 To her relief, the all-clear sounded at eight o'clock. 1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day iii. 47 I felt more anticlimax than relief after the dreaded interview. 2006 Observer 14 May (Review section) 4/2 He seems cheerful and grounded, which is a relief. b. Ease from or alleviation of physical pain or discomfort. Cf. pain relief n. at pain n.¹ Compounds 2. ΚΠ a1500 (c1477) T. Norton Ordinal of Alchemy (BL Add.) (1975) 2073 (MED) A lewde man..Tastyd of the white stone a parte, Trustyng therbi to fynde relyefe Of alle seknes and of alle grefe. 1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes (new ed.) f. 99 Death hath brought your payne a right relefe. 1596 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) I. 376 That hir said husband and bairnis beand swa tormentit besyde hir, mycht move hir to mak ony confessioune for thair releif. a1614 in J. Melvill Autobiogr. & Diary (1842) p. lvii His only refreschment and releiff, in the extremitie of paine, wes prayer. 1691 J. Ray Wisdom of God 69 The Warming-stone..hath been found to give ease and relief in several Pains and Diseases. 1705 F. Fuller Medicina Gymnastica 3 Most Men indulge themselves in the Expectation of..sudden Relief. 1774 W. Buchan Domest. Med. (ed. 3) xliii. 490 Nothing will procure any lasting relief till these [humours] are either corrected or expelled. 1859 Lancet 1 Jan. 8/2 Condy's fluid was commenced on the fourth day, with immediate relief to the pain. 1879 J. C. Morison Gibbon 172 He underwent another operation and as usual experienced much relief. 1977 Ann. Internal Med. 86 738/1 Meperidine..is a narcotic analgesic that is widely used for the relief of pain. 1991 N. de Lange tr. A. Oz To know Woman (1992) vi. 23 Lisa calmed her with valerian drops, an old-fashioned remedy that nevertheless brought her some relief. 2003 Philadelphia June 23/2 The open-air pissoirs would provide relief for full bladders. †c. Something that provides mental relaxation; entertainment, sport. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > [noun] > source of amusement or entertainment mirtha1250 solacec1290 recreationc1400 esbatement1477 pastime1490 pastancea1500 passe-temps1542 entertainment1561 relief?1578 fancy1590 sport1598 abridgement1600 entertain1601 recreative1615 amusatory1618 nutsa1625 diverter1628 recreator1629 passatempo1632 amuser1724 fun1726 dissipation1733 resource1752 distraction1859 enlivening1859 good, clean fun1867 enlivenment1883 light relief1885 laugh1921 not one's scene1962 violon d'Ingres1963 ?1578 W. Patten Let. Entertainm. Killingwoorth 24 If he wear taken onez, then what shyft..he woold woork too wynde hym self from them..waz a matter of a goodly releef. d. Sexual release or satisfaction. In later use also: spec. = hand relief n. at hand n. Compounds 6. ΚΠ 1609 R. Jones Musicall Dreame v. sig. D^v But if I can but get a man a man hele yeeld me some reliefe. 1709 E. Ward Secret Hist. Clubs xxxi. 392 Ladies know a Woman's best Relief Is found in him, that feeds on noble Beef. 1833 London Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 10 Aug. 46/1 When desire is urgent,..he avails himself of mental or mechanical excitation for his relief. c1890 My Secret Life VI. i. 13 All day spite of the relief I had given my-self..I was as lewed as I could be. 1919 O. Adler in W. J. Robinson Sexual Truths 55 The majority of women affected by it [sc. inability to orgasm during sexual intercourse] seek relief by masturbating after coitus. 1982 E. McCleod Women Working 35 It's £10 for topless hand relief (masturbating the client) £15 for strip and relief. 1996 Observer Rev. 12 May 1/4 The going rates are £30 for sex, £40 for oral, £50 for spanking with relief, £70 for caning and relief, always with a condom. 2000 L. Parrott Help your Struggling Teenager ii. 220 Once a sexual image came into his mind he could not function until he found relief through masturbation. e. A change which provides respite from something monotonous or tedious; a (typically agreeable or pleasant) feature which breaks up visual or other monotony. Also as a mass noun: alleviation or respite brought about by such change. ΘΚΠ the world > time > change > [noun] > welcome change relief1712 1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 333. ¶23 He has..interspersed several Speeches, Reflections, Similitudes, and the like Reliefs, to diversifie his Narration. 1773 S. Johnson Let. 30 Sept. (1788) I. 115 Company is..considered as a supply of pleasure, a relief of that tediousness of life which is felt in every place. 1793 J. Thomson Major Piper II. xix. 103 The variety of walks, which were cut in every direction,..was a welcome relief from the surrounding gloom of the other parts. 1833 H. Martineau Brooke & Brooke Farm (ed. 3) i. 4 A clump of beeches..were a relief to the eye. 1870 F. R. Wilson Archit. Surv. Churches Lindisfarne 81 The north walls..were built as plain lengths of masonry, without buttresses, windows, mouldings, or relief of any kind. 1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 17 Apr. 2/1 The new-made Countess, who is in white lampas, with spotless ermine and yellow for relief. 1904 Church Times 29 Apr. 569/1 An occasional relief to the usual strict dietary in the way of some exceptional or extra food or delicacy. 1979 ‘J. le Carré’ Smiley's People (1980) i. 7 Her black dress..possessed neither a waist nor any other relief except for a dash of white lace at the neck. 2000 Lewiston (Idaho) Morning Tribune (Nexis) 1 June (Outdoors section) 1 d The gentle dark green slopes of Osier Ridge and Wapito Peak. For relief, there are brighter greens of the shrubs and meadows. f. A gradual widening in the bore of a gun barrel towards the muzzle. Now chiefly historical. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > bore > gradual widening of bore relief1824 1824 P. Hawker Instr. Young Sportsmen (ed. 3) 8 This relief has the effect of making the gun shoot as close as it can do. 1858 W. Greener Gunnery in 1858 306 The relief in the muzzle of a gun has a tendency, by allowing a gradual expansion laterally, to keep the charge of shot better together. 1951 I. Glendenning Brit. Pistols & Guns ii. 11/2 I think that the relief at the muzzle of a rifle or smooth-bore gun was more for the purpose of ease of starting the projectile into the muzzle. 3. a. Assistance in time of danger, need, or difficulty; aid, help, or support. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > types of help > [noun] > help in trouble, danger, or difficulty bootOE dischargec1390 relief?1406 redressa1413 relievement1443 ?1406 T. Hoccleve La Mâle Règle 55 in E. P. Hammond Eng. Verse between Chaucer & Surrey (1927) 61/1 O now thyn help, thy socour and releef, And I for ay mis reule wole exyle. c1500 Melusine (1895) 270 Many of them for theyre relyf supposed to haue entred into thadmyral shipp & they were drowned. 1529 T. Wolsey in W. B. Scoones Four Cent. Eng. Lett. (1880) 11 I with all myn shal not onely ascrybe thys my relef unto you, but [etc.]. 1603 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Hist. Descr. Worlde 3 In sodaine hurliburlies of warre it is commonly seene, that courage affoorde more reliefe then policie. 1659 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. Psalms (cii. 6 Paraphr.) 500 For any relief from man, I am as distetute and hopeless of it. 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 184 At night Boats and Pilots went off to her Relief. 1708 S. Ockley Conquest of Syria 276 Whilst he was murdering the unhappy Aleppians, Caled, (better late than never) came to their Relief. 1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer v. 99 Prudence once more comes to my relief. 1832 J. Baxter Libr. Agric. & Hort. Knowl. (ed. 2) 202 The soil is the only resource of permanent relief. 1845 W. G. Simms Wigwam & Cabin 1st Ser. 22 The boatman, who..knew by his dialect and dress that he was a back-countryman, came to his relief. 1976 E. S. Dodge Islands & Empires vi. 98 For three years the missionaries nearly starved. After relief arrived in 1838, Cross attempted to establish a mission at Mbau. 2000 Times (Nexis) 8 July (Sports section) Surrey were soon undermined by a fine opening spell... Relief came from an unexpected quarter in Anil Kumble, who consistently pitched short. b. Aid, support, or help given in time of war; (in later use) esp. deliverance of a besieged town or people from an attacking force. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > defence > [noun] > defensive support relief1443 appui1809 society > armed hostility > attack > action or state of siege or blockade > [noun] > discontinuing of siege > freeing from siege or blockade relief1443 relieving1720 deblockade1871 1443 in H. Nicolas Proc. & Ordinances Privy Council (1835) V. 417 (MED) Þat þe saide Viscounte..ordeine þe saide men, vitaille, & shippes to be sent over in all haste to Bourdeaulx for þe socoure & rerelief of it. a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) viii. l. 5410 Thrysse in þat feycht at gret myscheiff He was, bot ay he gat releyff. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lxxxx Where as we entended the relief and reskue of you and our sayd subiectes and citie of Turnay. 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 173 Agricola..sayles into Britannie w^t a chosen and waled armie, in releife of the Romanis. 1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. 107 The warre, which is farre from the reliefe of any friend. 1652 J. Wadsworth tr. P. de Sandoval Civil Wars Spain 151 They kept their Rounds and Guards in the Citie, and sent Hors to the relief of Segovia. 1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 29 They had given over the Relief of Casal. 1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xxx. 165 Stilicho..advanced..to the relief of the faithful city. 1810 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1836) VI. 257 I..have been prevented from attempting its relief only by the certainty which I had that the attempt must fail. 1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest III. xii. 168 He collected his troops with all speed, and hastened..to the relief of Ambrières. 1904 Sat. Rev. 18 June 784/1 Patriots, who with whisky, rattles, ticklers, Union Jacks and patriotic melody..celebrated the relief [of Mafeking]. 1968 P. Warner Sieges of Middle Ages iii. 63 He built two temporary wooden forts to cut off the castle from any external relief. 1998 Phoenix Catal. No. P162. 1/2 He was attached to the 53rd regiment and had a front seat view of the famous action at the relief of Lucknow. c. A group effecting this; a body of soldiers, etc., coming to the aid of a person or place. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > types of help > [noun] > help in trouble, danger, or difficulty > one who > group supplies1488 relief1568 1568 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1934) I. 80 So greit releivis of lordis [Maitland releiffis and lordis] thame to defend. 1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 220 She..retired with the Prince to a reliefe which they brought from beyond Sea. 1670 C. Cotton tr. G. Girard Hist. Life Duke of Espernon 594 He gave advice to Fight the Relief so soon as ever it began to appear. 1756 A. P. Goddard tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Italy IX. 298 He [sc. the Pope] would be held in Play until this first Relief arrived, after which Rome would be out of Danger. 1825 S. Perkins Hist. Late War 136 Here they remained surrounded and frequently attacked..until a relief arrived with provisions and horses. 1857 G. Harris Diary 26 Sept. in Lady's Diary Siege Lucknow (1858) 119 Yesterday evening, on the eighty-eighth day of the siege, our long-looked for and so often despaired-of ‘relief’ arrived. 1935 C. E. Banks Hist. York, Maine 319 They then held out against the Indians until a relief came to their rescue from the town. †d. Assistance towards saving or achieving something. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > types of help > [noun] > help to save or effect something relief1659 1659 J. Leak tr. I. de Caus New Inventions Water-works 26 A rare and necessary Engin, by which you may give great reliefe to Houses that are on Fire. 1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ i. iv. §3 We are like then to have little relief for finding out of truth in the Poetick Age of Greece. †4. Hunting. a. Of a hare or hart: the action or an act of seeking food; feeding or pasturing. Cf. relieve v. 3c. Also figurative with reference to persons. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating by animals > [noun] reliefc1425 pabulation1623 marshing1778 night-feeding1838 ovesting1903 c1425 Edward, Duke of York Master of Game (Vesp. B.xii) (1904) 104 (MED) Gladly she wil not be þer as she haþ pasturid but in tyme of reliefe. 1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie xxix. 75 He muste take good heede that he come not too earely into the springs and hewtes where he thinketh that the Harte doth feede and is at reliefe. 1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie lxi. 171 Houndes will haue better sente of an Hare when shee goeth towards the reliefe, than when shee goeth towardes hyr Forme. a1637 B. Jonson Sad Shepherd ii. vii. 19 in Wks. (1640) III A Witch..will be found, or sitting in her fourme, Or els, at releife, like a Hare. View more context for this quotation 1671 J. Dryden Evening's Love iv. 60 What, Are you going to reliefe by Moonshine? 1714 A. Stringer Experienc'd Huntsman 147 Some fancy the hunting of a hare from her relief to her form. 1750 J. S. Gardiner Art & Pleasures of Hare-hunting 41 All Hares leave more Scent going to, than from Relief. b. The giving of food to young hounds after a successful chase. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [noun] > feeding hounds relief1590 1590 T. Cokayne Treat. Hunting C j A good Huntsman ought to..carry with him a peece of bread in his sleeue to wet in the bloud of the Hare for the reliefe of his whelps. c. A call sounded on a horn. Cf. recheat n. Also figurative. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > hunting > signals > [noun] > signal on horn forloinc1369 motec1400 strakea1425 rechasec1425 recopec1425 morta1500 seekc1500 death note1575 recheat1575 gibbet1590 wind1596 relief1602 call1677 stroke1688 gone away1827 rattle1889 society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > music on specific instrument > [noun] > wind music > cadence or flourish on horn blas?c1225 forloinc1369 windc1374 strakea1425 strakinga1425 rechasec1425 rechasingc1425 recopec1425 seekc1500 mort1555 recheat1575 gibbet1590 senneta1593 relief1602 horn-call1632 call1677 stroke1688 tantivy1785 tralira1801 tra-la-la1886 1602 2nd Pt. Returne fr. Parnassus ii. v. 854 When you come to your stately gate, as you sounded the recheat before, so now you must sound the releefe three times. 1606 Returne from Pernassus ii. v. sig. D2 O sir, but your reliefe [MS veline] is your sweetest note, that is sir, when your hounds hunt after a game vnknowne. 5. a. Aid, help, or assistance given to a person or persons in a state of poverty or need; spec. (formerly) assistance given to the poor from funds administered under the Poor Law or from parish doles; (more recently) financial assistance given to those in need by the state under some other legislative provision, such as a system of social security. Also, in recent use: food or other supplies given as assistance in response to a particular disaster, crisis, etc.; frequently as second element in compounds.outdoor, parish, poor, town relief, etc.; famine, war relief: see the first element. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social attitudes > philanthropy > [noun] > poor-relief relieving1389 relief1438 poor relief1698 legal charity1818 poor-work1854 society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > grants and allowances > [noun] > payments to assist poor relief1438 soldier money1593 relief ticket1830 the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > types of help > [noun] > aid in want, pain, sickness, etc. > material aid relief1438 material aid1853 society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > grants and allowances > [noun] > state allowance benefit1911 welfare benefit1913 welfare cheque1922 social security1943 pogey1954 entitlement programme1956 SS1963 social1966 welfare1970 social benefit1972 relief1995 1438 in C. Welch Hist. Pewterers of London (1902) I. 10 (MED) Also that euery persone houshoulder..paie yerly to the relef of pouer men of the same Craft xij d. a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 901 (MED) Thy brothir, se, ny dyeth for myschief..If þou heer-after come vn-to swych pref, Thow wolt ful sore triste [v.r. thurst] after releef. c1450 W. Lichefeld Complaint of God (Lamb. 853) l. 268 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 207 My seruauntis suffren hungir & coolde, Releef of þee ȝit haue þei noon. 1472–3 Rolls of Parl.: Edward IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1472 1st Roll §53. m. 9 To the verrey..worship of God, and grete releyf and sustenaunce of pore people. 1548 H. Latimer Notable Serm. sig. B.ii They would bequeath greate summes of money towarde the reliefe of the pore. 1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. xlviii. 96 Petitionarie prayer belongeth only to such as..stand in need of reliefe from others. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) i. i. 15 To reliefe of Lazars, and weake age Of indigent faint Soules..A hundred Almes-houses. View more context for this quotation 1632 R. Sanderson 12 Serm. 384 The competent releefe of the orderly poore. 1669 W. Montagu in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 446 The Church charities and the secular reliefs. 1743 J. Morris Serm. ii. 47 They..cruelly refuse to the distressed..relief. 1793 E. Burke Let. in Corr. (1968) VII. 425 In their idea of relief, there is always included something of punishment. 1829 Amer. Q. Rev. Mar. 116 The base and avaricious chiefs..[took] means to prevent the distribution of relief among the unhappy sufferers. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 421 The men, women, and children who receive relief are..one tenth of the inhabitants. 1865 Pall Mall Gaz. 13 May 1 If there is to be parochial relief at all..there must be some law to determine the question by whom that relief is to be given. 1893 Missionary Guardian Jan. 25/2 The money given to..earthquake and flood relief. 1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 22 Mar. 1/3 More than $400,000 has now been expended by the city in providing relief, it will be pointed out. 1945 French Rev. 18 239 The NCWC agency will cooperate..with other war relief agencies..with the aim of getting relief through to the neediest areas. 1995 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 29 Jan. a3 [During the Great Depression] some governments were more generous with welfare payments—known as relief—than others. 2002 Daily Tel. 28 Oct. 22/1 UN agencies and aid organisations trying to get food, medicine and relief into the stricken south. 2004 Pop. Sci. Mar. 46/2 (heading) An international fleet of microsatellites speeds up disaster relief. †b. Sustenance. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > [noun] > sustenance or nourishment foodOE fosterc1000 fodnethOE flittinga1225 livenotha1225 nourishingc1300 sustenancec1300 livelihoodc1325 nurture1340 fosteringc1386 livingc1405 nouriturea1425 nutriment?a1425 nutrition?a1425 lifehood1440 reliefa1450 nourishmentc1450 nurshingc1450 sustentationc1450 nutrimentc1485 alimenta1500 sustainmenta1500 bielda1522 creature1540 suck1584 mantiniment1588 fosterment1593 the three M's1938 a1450 (a1325) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (London Univ.) 827 Of relyue [c1325 Calig. pur meseise him þuder drof & defaute of biliue]. 1530 in N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expences Henry VIII (1827) 86 Paied to the keper of Grenewiche parke for xiiij lode of hey..for the relief of the dere there, And for the carriage thereof [etc.]. 1575 G. Gascoigne Hundred Flowers in Wks. 23 With gonnes we kill the Crowe, For spoyling our releefe. 1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage iv. vii. 322 Where is a faire Stone-Hospitall.., allowing..three dayes reliefe for horse and man freely. †c. Support; sustaining of a place. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > preservation from injury or destruction > [noun] > preservation in being or maintenance > specifically of a person, institution, office, etc. sustenancec1300 supportation1421 supporting1431 relief1463 support1561 supportance1593 1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 35 (MED) I yeve and be qwethe..Item, to the frerys of Babwelle..and to the relef and reparacion of the seid place, x s..Item, to the nunnys of Thetford..and to the releef and comfort of the place, x s. ?1464 H. Berry in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 296 Euery man to do his part to the wellfare, socour, and releue of our monasteri. 1601 Act 43 Eliz. c. 4 §1 Landes, Tenements, [etc.]..given..for or towardes Reliefe, Stocke or Maintenance for Howses of Correction. 1633 A. Munday et al. Stow's Surv. of London (new ed.) 97/2 He gave to Christs Hospitall, to purchase Lands for the reliefe of the house, five hundred pounds. †d. A fresh supply or supplies of some article, as food, drink, etc. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > supply of food or provisions > [noun] > fresh supply refreshing1418 relief?1578 ?1578 W. Patten Let. Entertainm. Killingwoorth 61 Cam thear in a too dayz space, from sundry freendz: a releef of a .xl. tunn, tyll a nu supply waz gotten again. 1614 S. Purchas Pilgrimage (ed. 2) ix. xiv. 911 Besides this reliefe of Fowles, they had plentie of Tortoise egges. 1650 Sir R. Granville in Ld. Lansdowne's Wks. (1732) II. 227 I have likewise out of my small Stock sent a Relief of Clothes for the Soldiers. 1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World i. 118 Frequent Relief of fresh Water, of Plants, Fowl, and Fish, if not of Bread and Flesh. 6. a. Scots Law. Release from an obligation; (also) the right of a person accountable for something, esp. one who has stood security for a debt , to reclaim expenses incurred by the obligation; an instance of this. Frequently in bond (or claim, clause, etc.) of relief. ΘΚΠ society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > [noun] > release from duty or obligation remission?1316 loosingc1357 releasec1390 releasing1395 discharginga1398 defeasance1399 quittancea1400 acquittancec1405 discharge1423 absolution1447 acquittinga1450 quietance1451 excusationc1475 relief1496 acquittal?1538 releasement1548 ease1576 excuse1577 relievement1583 excusal1584 exoneration1640 dispensation1653 absolvement1689 society > law > legal right > rights to do or use something > [noun] > right to pecuniary compensation recourse1462 regress1467 relief1927 1496 in G. Neilson & H. Paton Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1918) II. 35 The haile toune havand thare releif of the remanent of the burowis of the realme awing ony part of the soume. 1571 Extracts Rec. in W. Chambers Charters Burgh Peebles (1872) 327 To mak him payment thairof for thair awne releif of the charge of the kingis letteres direct to thame thairupone. c1680 G. Dallas Syst. Stiles (1697) 1 If there be two or moe Cautioners, and that there be a mutual Relief, then the same must be immediatly before the Clause of Registration, and the Clause of mutual Relief conceived as follows. 1722 W. Forbes Inst. Law Scotl. I. ii. 195 The inherent Obligation of mutual Relief..is another improper Contract. 1837 Sc. Jurist 9 433 It is quite new to me that a clause of relief can operate to constitute a principal obligation. 1859 Times 7 Jan. 7 If the statements are false, the party who has been induced by them to engage in the transaction may have a claim of relief against the persons making the statements. 1927 W. M. Gloag & R. C. Henderson Introd. Law Scotl. 202 Where more than one cautioner is engaged anyone who has paid more than his share may claim relief from the others. 1946 A. D. Gibb Students' Gloss. Sc. Legal Terms 13 Bond of relief is the obligation entered into by a debtor to repay a guarantor. 2000 Times (Nexis) 8 Feb. The insurer could raise an action in his own name to enforce his right of relief for the whole sum. b. More generally: formal release, esp. in law, from some hardship, burden, or grievance; legal remedy or redress; an instance of this. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > amending > [noun] > remedy helpc1000 healinga1225 remedy?c1225 bote of beam1330 recurec1330 recoverera1375 remeida1413 redemption?a1439 botmenta1450 recurementc1450 presidy?a1475 mendsa1525 repair1612 relief1616 booty beam1642 beyond retrieve1658 beyond retrieval1697 society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > claim at law > [noun] > legal redress remedyc1405 relief1616 restitutio in integrum1676 comeback1907 1616 Kings Order & Decree in Chancery in G. Carew & W. Lambarde Rep. Chancery (1650) 122 The Judges of the common Law..cannot give any remedy or reliefe for the same, either by error or attaint, or by any other meanes. 1682 A. Colquitt Mod. Rep. 305 You give relief every day where there are express Clauses, that there shall be no relief in Law or Equity. 1743 Viner's Abridgm. XVIII. 328 Release of all Demands will bar a Demand of a Relief, because the Relief is by reason of the Seigniory. 1790 J. Wesley Let. July (1931) VIII. 231 The Justices averred the Methodists could have no relief from the Act of Toleration because they went to church, and that so long as they did so the Conventicle Act should be executed upon them. 1817 W. Selwyn Abridgem. Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 1131 The court refused to grant relief. 1917 Times 6 Feb. 3 Unless the public nuisance is established, no private individual can succeed in getting relief..in a case where the injury complained of..[results] from the use of the King's highway. 1977 S. Turow One L i. 50 ‘Torts’..is the study of the kinds of injuries done by private citizens to one another for which the law offers relief. 2006 N. Nzegwu Family Matters iii. 124 It is basic rule of litigation in our courts that a party should not be granted a relief not sought. 7. a. Release from some occupation, post, or duty; spec. the replacement of a person or persons on duty, as a soldier, sentinel, watch, etc., by another or others; an instance of this. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > [noun] > rotation of units or relief of troops relief1513 roulement1918 society > occupation and work > work > times or periods of work > [noun] > release from occupation or duties relief1513 1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid viii. Prol. 29 Luffaris langis only to lok in thair lace Thair ladeis lufely, and louk but let or releifis. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. iii. f. iiii/2 The watche that had watched al nyght, was as than departed and their reliefe nat come as than [Fr. Le guect de la nuyt presque tout retrait, et la guette montoit en sa garde]. 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. i. 6 For this reliefe much thanks. View more context for this quotation 1635 Earl of Manchester Al Mondo: Contemplatio Mortis (rev. ed.) 61 In Warres we often releeve the Watch. Life is a Warfare, yet hath no releefe but Death. 1727 H. Bland Treat. Mil. Discipline xvi. 234 During the Night, the Sentrys..should be Reliev'd every Hour; and between every Relief a Patrole should be sent round them to keep them Alert. 1799 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry (ed. 3) 359 The number of men necessary for the relief of the videts (or sentries), are then to be marched off. 1799 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1834) I. 26 Between foraging parties and outline picquets, we have not men enough left to give a relief. 1847 Infantry Man. (1854) 101 All advanced piquets must have three reliefs. 1889 Infantry Drill vii. 285 See that the sentries are visited every hour between reliefs. 1933 Times 9 Mar. 17 In September the column which was carrying out the relief of the troops stationed in Chitral was attacked. 2003 C. Emsley War, Culture & Memory ii. 50 The 7th Company held the trench they had gloriously won, and remained there..until the relief of the battalion. b. A person or group relieving another on duty; esp. a soldier or body of soldiers relieving another on guard. Also (and earliest) in extended use. ΘΚΠ the world > time > change > exchange > substitution > [noun] > a substitute > in work or sport relief1709 substitute1826 sub1864 alternate1898 pinch-hitter1899 society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > soldier by type of service > [noun] > militiaman > substitute substitute1758 relief1795 society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to conditions > [noun] > one who relieves another worker relief1822 society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > group with special function or duty > [noun] > reserves standardc1325 reserves1632 reservala1645 corps de réserve1704 relief1826 mass of manoeuvre1907 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 66 Little Parson Dapper, who is the common Relief to all the lazy Pulpits in Town. 1795 Standing Orders Norwich Regiment 54 The Serjeant of the Guard is to see all Reliefs regularly turned out for the Relief of Sentries. 1822 Regul. & Ord. Army 219 Officers on Guard..are to inspect all Reliefs, both on going out to their Posts, and returning from them. 1826 W. Scott Woodstock II. iii. 57 We are to have a relief from Oxford to-morrow. 1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. i. 19 McGary, my relief, calls me. 1882 E. A. Floyer Unexplored Baluchistan 145 I gave orders..that the present set [of donkeys] should not be abandoned until their reliefs came. 1919 ‘Etienne’ Strange Tales from Fleet 144 Look here, old chap, it's a quarter to four. What about your reliefs? 1978 P. Matthiessen Snow Leopard i. 48 One night..my relief on bow watch..failed to appear, and I was alone for eight hours in a maelstrom of wind and water. 1997 S. Scislowski Not all of us were Brave i. 56 As soon as our relief took over, Bob and I made tracks for the orchard, intending to fill our tunics with the juicy fruit. c. A dish succeeding another. Cf. relieve v. 6b. Now rare (historical in later use). ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > [noun] > dish > preceding or succeeding dish remove1733 relief1788 relevé1825 1788 W. Dyott Diary 1 Sept. (1907) I. 53 We had ninety dishes, fifty-five the first course and relieves, and thirty-five the second course. 1824 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto XV lxiii. 36 ‘Soupe à la bonne femme’..whose relief was Dory. 1936 P. Chalmers Shooting Man's Eng. xiii. 215 Ben Jonson..asks a friend to sup... The coney will be followed by a ‘relief’ of ‘partridge, pheasant, woodcock’. 8. a. Remission of some charge, penalty, burden, etc. Now rare (but cf. sense 6b). ΚΠ 1535 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. II. 340 That I may haue..some releeve of the greate charge wiche the words of the Kyngs Lettres importe. 1688 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1852) I. 226 As to y^e Request of y^e Assembly for Relief of Grievances. 1726 Hist. Compend. from Creation to 1726 (ed. 2) 66 The Heathens oppress the Jews..but they obtain Relief of their Grievances, and a further confirmation of their Privileges. 1849 S. Eliot Liberty of Rome 10 Rutilus and his colleague exerted themselves at once in relief of the debts which weighed upon the lower estate. 1899 Sc. Law Reporter 11 July 875/1 Contributions made..in aid and relief of his obligation to feed and clothe..a large..family. 1968 D. S. Woolman Rebels in Rif (1969) viii. 122 By promising autonomy to the Catalans, relief of responsibility to the royalists, and honor to the military, he was able to win support from many factions. b. spec. Remission of a duty, tax or the like; (in later use) short for tax relief n. at tax n.¹ Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > taxation > [noun] > tax allowances and deductions relief1732 concession1888 tax relief1916 tax deduction1942 tax credit1946 tax allowance1950 tax-loss1959 tax break1968 1732 in Compl. Coll. Lords' Protests (1767) II. 87 The Landed Interest..will pay dear for the Relief of One Shilling in the Pound..in this Year's Land-Tax. 1822 Times 31 Jan. 2 He entreated the meeting not to be deceived by the particular bearing of any particular tax... Partial relief would avail the agriculturalist very little. 1860 E. S. White Maltster's Guide 157 Full directions for applying for relief of malt duty in the case of damage. 1889 A. Chapman Income-tax Grievances & their Remedy i. 9 Appellants who..prove..that their profits have not been equal to the sum at which they were assessed and have paid duty, are entitled to relief and repayment of tax. 1972 Accountant 17 Aug. 191/1 The strict ban against relief for part-time directors and employees. 2009 Daily Mail (Nexis) 15 Jan. 12 The Revenue says the majority of people who were entitled to the relief have already claimed it. 9. a. Deliverance or release from religious or political oppression or tyranny. ΚΠ 1585 R. Lane Let. 12 Aug. in Proc. Amer. Antiquarian Soc. (1860) 4 12 By meane whereof..the Churche..may..finde a relyfe and freedom from the servytude and tyranny that by Spayene..the same hath..beene most myserabelly oppressed with. 1649 Unanimous Declar. Scroope's & Ireton's Regiments 5 Such Tyranicall Officers whose unsufferable proceedings tend..to the obstruction of our Peace, the hinderances of the Relief of Ireland, [etc.]. 1780 G. Suckling Hist. Acct. Virgin Islands x. 67 The inhabitants and merchants remain without any other hopes of relief from the tyranny of their oppressors. 1830 Niles' Reg. 6 Nov. 181/1 It is..a concession to the remonstrance of a minority, who believe themselves to be oppressed, and call aloud for relief from oppression. 1861 T. E. May Constit. Hist. Eng. (1863) I. 375 The friends of the Catholic claims, who would have condemned it separately,..consented to it, as a necessary part of the measures for the relief of the Catholics. 1908 Times 20 May 10 A Jewish community in Egypt petitioning for relief from a persecution which kept them from observing their religious ordinances. 2001 History Today (Nexis) 1 Jan. 19 British and imperial stability required a Union which, in turn, demanded a measure of relief or ‘emancipation’ for Catholics. b. Scottish. (a) Usually with capital initial. Freedom from a system of ecclesiastical patronage; applied spec. to a movement within the 18th-cent. Church of Scotland which asserted the right of a congregation to elect its own ministers. Chiefly in Church of Relief, Presbytery of Relief, etc. Now historical.The Relief movement resulted in a secession from the Establishment in 1761, and the formation of the Relief Church by Thomas Gillespie (1708–74) and others. In 1847 the church amalgamated with the United Secession to form the United Presbyterian Church. ΚΠ 1736 in J. MacKerrow Hist. Secession Church (1841) 101 This Presbytery should make some step towards the relief of the Lord's oppressed heritage. 1761 in J. MacKerrow Hist. Secession Church (1841) 283 The presbytery did, and hereby do, form themselves into a Presbytery of Relief, for the relief of Christians. 1775 M. J. Armstrong Compan. Map of Peebles 57 The town..Has a meeting house, or church of relief. 1794 Z. Yewdall in Arminian Mag. Aug. (1795) 371 Here I found a large parish church, two meeting-houses, and a Kirk of relief. 1847 Mem. Union of Secession & Relief Churches 7 To begin and maintain a friendly intercourse with the Synod of Relief. 1867 Chambers's Encycl. at United Presb. Ch. They boldly resolved to deprive the people of all right to elect..ministers. Never were forced settlements more shameless... Relief was felt to be a necessity. 1909 New Schaff-Herzog Encycl. Relig. Knowl. III. 84 The ‘free church’ movement manifested itself first and most forcibly in Scotland, in the Secession Church of 1733, the Church of Relief of 1752 [etc.]. 2004 K. B. E. Roxburgh in A. E. McGrath & D. C. Marks Blackwell Compan. Protestantism i. vii. 113 The three ministers and an elder from each of the three congregations met together and constituted themselves into the Presbytery of Relief. (b) In elliptical use, with the. This church or movement. ΘΚΠ society > faith > sect > Christianity > Protestantism > Presbyterianism > Presbyterian sects and groups > [noun] > relief > collective relief1767 Relief Church1767 1767 Scots Mag. 29 285/2 Another minister, and a preacher,..have..gone into the Relief. 1814 L. Murray Young Man's Best Compan. (1821) 510 There is also a species of Dissenters from the Church of Scotland called the Relief, whose only difference from the Kirk is, the choosing of their own pastors. 1847 Mem. Union of Secession & Relief Churches 7 The overture proposed only intercourse with the Relief as a sister Church. 1904 R. Small Hist. Congregations United Presbyterian Church I. 72 About the close of his Arts course, he..joined the Relief. 1997 Internat. Bull. Missionary Res. (Nexis) 1 Apr. 67 The denominational churches—the Relief and the United Secession..—failed to make any major impact. 10. Chiefly British. An additional vehicle providing public transport at times of high demand; a relief train, bus, etc. (see Compounds 3, relief train n. (b) at Compounds 1b). Now chiefly historical. ΚΠ 1930 London & North East. Railway Mag. July 362/2 The 3.40 p.m. York–Newcastle was duplicated and I was advised..to travel on the relief ‘as it will leave first’. 1951 Railway Gaz. 4 May 510/1 Many trains run as reliefs last summer are to run regularly this year and will appear in the public timetables. 1980 K. Warren Fifty Years of Green Line xiv. 96/1 Most of these were drafted into the private hire fleet..and thus some may have found themselves as Green Line reliefs. 1987 Railway Mag. Nov. 709/3 The 6.59 p.m. from Hastings..was operated..daily in summer as a relief to the 7.10 pm. from Hastings to Charing Cross. Phrases P1. on (the) relief: in receipt of state relief (see sense 5a); (colloquial, chiefly U.S. and Irish English) ‘on the dole’. ΚΠ 1921 Times 27 Sept. 9 It is officially reported that 124,410 persons in India are on relief. 1935 Fortune Aug. 39/3 Last year was a good year..for McLean County, in spite of the fact that 12,000 of the population of 70,000 are on relief. 1936 Violations Free Speech & Rights Labor (U.S. Senate Comm. Educ. & Labor) 3993 Has he had credit or has he been on a cash basis?.. He was on the relief. 1957 R. Hoggart Uses of Literacy ii. 40 At my grandmother's we were not living ‘on relief’ but, like many around us, we were ‘a bit short’. 1996 F. McCourt Angela's Ashes (1997) ii. 59 She said that..that Dad would have to get up off his arse, get a job,..or go on the relief. 2003 V. O. Carter Such Sweet Thunder 36 Bein glad to git that [sc. half pay] 'cause almost ever'body you know..have to be on relief! P2. Baseball. in relief: in the position or role of relief pitcher. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > [adverb] > types of pitcher in relief1935 1935 N.Y. Times 3 July 10/5 He pitched in relief against the Giants. 1979 Arizona Daily Star 1 Apr. c1/5 Steve Conroy entered the game in relief. 2007 D. Ortiz & T. Massarotti Big Papi 4 The dude pitched three innings in relief and he didn't give up a hit or a run. Compounds C1. General attributive. a. relief agency n. ΚΠ 1862 Times 1 Nov. 7/1 The work which the different relief agencies have to perform is to keep 6,579 hands..who have no visible incomes. 1993 Gulf News (Dubai) 26 Oct. 5/6 UN relief agencies in Iraq fear that rebel Kurds in northern Iraq will block the vital Iraq-Turkey highway. relief aid n. ΚΠ 1862 Times 25 July 8/3 In the House of Commons, on the order for the second reading of the Union Relief Aid Bill. 1878 Proc. 54th Ann. Comunic. Right Worthy Grand Lodge (Independent Order Odd Fellows) 7817 The Subordinate Lodge..with power to dispense its relief aid directly. 2004 New Statesman 6 Sept. 17/3 The government has reluctantly allowed in relief aid, some of which, the UN reports, is reaching the Darfuris who have fled. relief bill n. ΚΠ 1784 Parl. Papers E. India Aff. 515 In a Committee, on the East-India Company relief bill, Lord Galway in the chair. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. p. viii His Grace did oppose the Relief Bill in every stage of its progress. 1921 Times 4 Nov. 11/1 In the House of Commons..Supplementary Estimates arising out of Relief Bills were agreed to. 2006 Bond Buyer (Nexis) 30 Mar. 62 Less than a month after the hurricane struck..the Mississippi Legislature passed relief bills that allowed schools and governments to borrow funds..for capital and operating expenses. relief boat n. ΚΠ 1852 Weekly Wisconsin (Milwaukee) 3 Nov. 2/3 A relief boat on the Mississippi recently received $4,000 for one night's labor. 1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous 167 They were turned into relief-boats to carry fish. 1998 R. Redfern Walking in Hebrides (2003) xviii. 179 An old woman became seriously ill and couldn't be got aboard a relief boat. relief coordinator n. ΚΠ 1931 Kingsport (Tennessee) Times 2 Sept. 4/7 The new relief co-ordinator..is in sharp contrast to his predecessor. 2001 I. Koss Called to Follow 74 Then the relief coordinator said, ‘Many of the mothers who receive these layettes are so thankful they share them with two other mothers.’ relief committee n. ΚΠ 1822 Times 5 Sept. 2/4 It was, no doubt, a question with the Relief Committee, whether some palliatives might not be found. 1892 J. C. Harris On Plantation 139 Where they lived remote from the relief committees, the families of the soldiers were not so well provided for as they had a right to expect. 1992 Herald Sun (Melbourne) (Nexis) 23 Sept. When I went to the Relief Committee, I met a lot of other people who were in need also. relief doctor n. ΚΠ 1855 G. Robertson Scrap Bk. Law & Politics, Men & Times 110/1 To doubt the skill of relief doctors is heresy. 1950 Times 8 Aug. 3 A relief doctor will remain on the island when Dr. Udovikoff is removed. 2006 M. E. Tuck Our Diabetic Sons xx. 170 The relief doctor gave orders for Doug to have 22 units of regular insulin. relief effort n. ΚΠ 1868 W. W. Hunter Ann. Rural Bengal ii. 55 Nevertheless, the two formal specifics may be assisted by subsidiary relief efforts, such as public works and organized public charity. 2008 St. Petersburg (Russia) Times 20 May 16/1 A ramped-up relief effort for the 2.5 million people left destitute by Cyclone Nargis. relief fund n. ΚΠ 1826 Times 17 May 2/6 The nominal amount of the relief-fund for the poor, has not increased in any degree worth mentioning since 1822–3. 1914 Scotsman 5 Oct. 10/3 The Flag Day effort organised to help the Belgian Relief Fund. 2005 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 3 Jan. 6/5 Surfwear giant Billabong yesterday announced a $500,000 relief fund to help tsunami victims in the surf resorts off northern Sumatra. relief guard n. ΚΠ 1776 London Mag. Feb. 94/1 I was awakened from my reverie by the sound of martial music. The relief guard passed by. 1823 Times 24 Dec. 3/6 The defendant, with a relief guard of five men, was coming out of the Park. 1997 L. R. Speer Portals to Hell x. 223 Moments after the afternoon relief guard entered the prison, a crowd of prisoners rushed and disarmed them. relief line n. ΚΠ 1856 Times 13 Nov. 3/2 An act empowering the construction by the Company of a relief line, between Lewisham and Dartford Stations. 1898 Daily News 23 Nov. 5/1 The new station..will consist of an island platform placed between the up and down relief lines. 1999 New Statesman (Nexis) 18 Oct. The train had been diverted to a relief line, parallel to the main, to let a fast mail pass. relief measure n. ΚΠ 1821 Niles' Weekly Reg. 17 Nov. 187/1 The legislature..may precipitate the destruction of the whole system, as a relief measure, by so far depreciating the paper as to stop its circulation. 1901 F. H. Skrine Life Sir W. W. Hunter xiii. 225 The conclusion arrived at was..that relief measures should be taken when the price of coarse grain touched a penny per lb. 1990 I. Bernstein New York City Draft Riots 183 The AICP associated the inappropriate relief measures of the ‘pseudo-philanthropist’ with the overtures to the poor made by Democratic reformers and politicians. relief mission n. ΚΠ 1848 Daily National Intelligencer (Washington) 18 Mar. Yet all the glory and triumphs of victory were as nothing compared with the pleasure afforded by being dispatched on this relief mission to disconsolate Ireland and unhappy Scotland. 2009 Calgary (Alberta) Herald (Nexis) 15 Mar. a5 A Cochrane resident..feels compelled to take the trip because of the poverty and devastation she has witnessed on previous relief missions. relief nurse n. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > healer > nurse > [noun] > other types man-nurse1530 probationer nurse1584 parish nurse1716 day nurse1759 school nurse1836 Gamp1846 hospital nurse1848 pupil nurse1861 male nurse1874 district nurse1883 relief nurse1884 casualty nurse1885 bayman1888 maid nurse1895 charge-nurse1896 ward nurse1899 health visitor1901 practice nurse1912 community nurse1922 scrub nurse1927 theatre nurse1934 para-nurse1942 nurse practitioner1967 rehab nurse1977 1884 Lancet 8 Nov. 824/2 The relief nurse coming on duty. 1938 Times 12 Jan. 15 She..cannot afford to engage a trained nurse or a relief nurse. 2000 L. Jackson If she only Knew 57 I've already got a live-in nurse and a relief nurse waiting. relief operation n. ΚΠ 1837 Manch. Times 5 Aug. Two questions were moved, the one, to throw all the unemployed on the soup kitchen, the other to discontinue the relief operations altogether. 1896 R. Temple Story of my Life II. i. 8 It was also close to the famine-stricken country and to the relief operations. 2008 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 26 June 40/1 The population's vulnerability to attack by the Janjaweed, even in refugee camps, greatly limited the ability of a very large relief operation to help them. relief organization n. ΚΠ 1847 Friends' Weekly Intelligencer 27 Mar. 413/1 Providing..supplies of food for those sections of Ireland and Scotland which were least likely to be provided for by the private trade, and to leave the remainder of the country to..the relief organization. 1974 Whig-Standard (Kingston, Ont.) 11 Jan. 7/1 A..graduate..with many years of experience with relief organizations. 2002 D. Rieff Bed for Night (2003) 358 World Vision is more like a classic Christian missionary group than a modern relief organization. relief package n. ΚΠ 1889 N.Y. Times 4 June 2/1 The Baltimore and Ohio will carry all relief packages free. 2003 Daily Tel. 26 Feb. 11/7 Relief packages for up to a million people and containing blankets, water containers and essential medicines have been ‘prepositioned’ in four Gulf countries. relief party n. ΚΠ 1776 J. Thacher Jrnl. 4 Mar. in Mil. Jrnl. Amer. Revolutionary War (1823) 46 At about four o'clock our regiment followed to the heights of Dorchester, as a relief party. 1854 Times 10 Nov. 6/6 At 9 at night the trenches were opened by 1,600 workmen, divided into relief parties. 1995 E. E. Werner Pioneer Children on Journey West i. 13 They had hoped to organize a relief party and return for the women and children. relief programme n. ΚΠ 1873 Freeman's Jrnl. (Dublin) 5 June 6/3 The relief programme is not likely to be ready for another month at the least. 2005 R. H. Brown in G. Junne & W. Verkoren Postconflict Devel. vi. 103 Part of the urgent relief program..was the recommissioning of Kosovo A & B Power Stations. relief teacher n. ΚΠ 1898 Independent (Massillon, Ohio) 1 Sept. Miss Florence Landon..has been offered a position as relief teacher in the State Industrial School for Girls. 1987 Evening Post (Wellington, N.Z.) 17 Dec. 9 The employment of relief teachers..was confirmed. 2005 D. McWilliams Pope's Children xx. 238 Canvassing for better school facilities, books and relief teachers. relief team n. ΚΠ 1858 Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Jrnl. 11 Mar. 1/6 Sir John accomplished the ascent to the plains by means of two relief teams of oxen. 1900 Times 9 Apr. 5/2 The supply of horses was very well managed, and relief teams were ready whenever they were needed. 1998 P. Gourevitch We wish to inform You xviii. 287 A relief team..had driven up to the Mokoto monastery and found the road blocked by two charred, naked corpses. b. relief camp n. (a) a camp for the accommodation of people in need of aid, esp. owing to a natural disaster, war, etc.; (b) chiefly New Zealand and Canadian a camp established by the government to house the unemployed, esp. those participating in work projects (now historical); cf. work camp n. (b) at work n. Compounds 3. ΚΠ 1864 J. Q. Thornton Oregon & Calif. in 1848 II. xi. 162 It was determined to make every provision necessary to relieve both the sufferers and those who had gone to their aid, and to have a relief-camp established at the most eligible point on the route. 1867 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 4 Jan. 107/2 The government are doing everything in their power to provide means to assist the unemployed in and around Brisbane and Ipswich, by the establishment of relief camps. 1932 Weekly News (Auckland) 1 June With the object of providing satisfactory useful work for unemployed men in return for sustenance and a small wage the Government has established relief camps. 1979 Honolulu Advertiser 8 Jan. o1/1 Officials set up relief camps..in the border between two eastern states where tribesmen killed 50 villagers. 1995 Our Times Aug.–Sept. 27/2 Discontent was heating up right across Canada. The federal government's answer was to set up isolated relief camps to keep the unemployed men out of sight. 2008 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 19 June a12/5 The stranded residents were scattered among relief camps and improvised shelters. relief duty n. †(a) payment, or a payment, made as a relief (sense 1a) (obsolete); (b) service as a substitute or relief. ΚΠ a1768 J. Erskine Inst. Law Scotl. (1773) I. ii. v. §50 The sums due to the crown for the nonentry and relief duties. 1814 Gen. Rep. Agric. State & Polit. Circumstances Scotl. I. ii. 188 The superior was entitled to a year's rent (relief-duty it was called) for relieving the estate from the hand of the superior. 1849 D. Ottinger Rep. 21 May in H. R. Rep. 35th U.S. Congr. 1 Session Doc. No. 403 (1868) 6 These fenders..would..give the men..increased confidence in boarding vessels at sea when on ‘relief duty’. 1914 St. Nicholas Oct. 1068/2 The hardest part of relief duty is being forced to go in at a moment's notice, without being properly warmed up. 2008 Boston Globe (Nexis) 9 Sept. d2 With Chris Carpenter limited to relief duty the rest of the season, the St. Louis Cardinals may be calling on their ace to get the final outs. relief pallet n. Music a pallet (pallet n.³ 3) which relieves excessive strain from the keys of an organ. ΚΠ 1880 C. A. Edwards Organs ii. iii. 52 Perhaps the most simple and ingenious of these peculiar pallets is one termed the relief pallet. 2006 L. A. Dobson et al. in D. E. Bush & R. Kassel Organ 9/2 The earliest such device was the relief pallet, a small pallet that opened first to break the air seal on the larger pallet, thus relieving the heavy pluck. relief pitcher n. Baseball a pitcher who takes over from another pitcher during a game, esp. one who regularly performs this role; cf. reliever n. 1d. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > baseball player > [noun] > pitcher pitcher1845 relief pitcher1884 southpaw1887 side-wheeler1890 moundsman1906 pretzel bender1908 starter1911 sidewinder1913 low-ball pitcher1915 fastballer1924 route-goer1924 reliever1925 hurler1926 fireballer1928 spitballer1928 screwballer1929 stopper1948 closer1980 middleman1985 1884 Sat. Rev. (E. Liverpool & Wellsville, Ohio) 31 May James Johnson..left Monday for Johnstown, Pa., having accepted a situation with the base ball club of that city as catcher and relief pitcher. 1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 16 June 1– c/4 Fingers..compiled a 1.35 earned run average in 16 World series appearances and was generally recognized as the American League's No. 1 relief pitcher. 2006 J. Adler Baseball Hacks 305 For a middle relief pitcher, there is little chance to get wins, losses, and saves. relief road n. (a) a road constructed to provide occupation and payment for the unemployed (now rare); (b) British a road designed to divert traffic from congested areas, esp. a road that takes traffic around, rather than through, an urban area. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > [noun] > for wheeled vehicles > relief road relief road1874 1847 Times 22 Jan. 7 Irish relief works... I send you a statement of a relief road job going on within sight of my windows.] 1874 Times 14 Apr. 12 The principal relief road, at the Durbunga end of which some 36,000 men, woman, and children are employed. 1901 Times 13 Sept. 4/4 One method of providing such relief roads would be by by-laws providing that all building estates should set aside land for main roads. 1999 Birmingham Post (Nexis) 5 Nov. 4 There will be a relief road which will improve the flow of traffic. relief roll n. North American a list or register of people receiving relief (sense 5a), esp. from the state. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social attitudes > philanthropy > [noun] > poor-relief > list of recipients of poor roll1580 poor book1662 relief roll1829 1829 Christian Watchman 7 Aug. 127/1 His name is to be struck off the relief roll. 1870 A. Sandham Ville-Marie ii. v. 301 All applicants for the first time are visited before relief is extended... The number of families on the relief roll is 531. 1938 Sun (Baltimore) 16 Apr. 8 The President himself has said that road building will ‘take very few people off the relief rolls’... Spending should be limited to relief. 1999 D. M. Kennedy Freedom from Fear vi. 164 Studies showed that one-fifth of all the people on the federal relief rolls were black. relief ticket n. now chiefly historical (in early use) a small sum of money given to alleviate hardship; (later) a ticket or voucher enabling a person to claim relief. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > grants and allowances > [noun] > payments to assist poor relief1438 soldier money1593 relief ticket1830 1830 Times 23 Nov. 2/5 The number of relief-tickets afforded from the above subscription was 4,548. 1848 United Irishman 20 May 224/2 Millions of men, who toiled their lives through from morning to night, found at length they had no rights but a right to public alms, and had realized, with all their toiling, nothing but the chance of a relief-ticket. 1976 J. O'Connor Eleventh Commandment i. 21 He got a bit of beer money and came away laughing; relief tickets, they call them, and worth a couple of quid... The shops that took relief tickets would always overcharge the working class. 1991 J. Marriott Culture of Labourism iv. 151 The daily, petty humiliations of survival—obtaining food with relief tickets, pawning possessions, confronting the rent collector. relief train n. (a) a train transporting aid, medical supplies, etc., to an area affected by war, famine, natural disaster, etc. (b) a train providing supplementary or replacement transport, esp. (chiefly British) additional public transport at times of high demand; cf. Compounds 3. ΚΠ 1852 Huron Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio) 3 Aug. A relief train consisting of eight wagons,..had been sent to meet the overland emigrants and furnish them the aid they need. 1872 Times 24 Dec. 5/5 A relief train leaves Newcastle at 5.20... The ordinary train leaves 15 minutes later, and is usually on a Saturday night very heavily laden with passengers. 1904 Booklovers' Mag. May 663 It is a relief train, ready to respond to any call for aid in case of accident. 1994 N.Y. Times 15 Aug. a15/3 During a peak in Sudan's 187–88 famine, they turned a blind eye to..use of relief trains for military goods. 2005 Jrnl. (Newcastle) (Nexis) 15 Nov. 5 There will be a small number of trains that will run to and from Cardiff that weekend... We're not going to be in a position to run a relief train. relief valve n. a valve serving to relieve pressure in a system when it becomes too high by opening to allow the escape of gas, water, steam, etc. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > control(s) > [noun] > valve > others washer1596 turncock1702 air cock1709 Jack-in-the-box1728 runner1754 stop-valve1829 three-way cock1838 ball valve1839 relief valve1846 poppet valve1851 plunger valve1854 pot-lid1856 reflux valve1857 screw-down1864 mica valve1880 tide flap1884 tube-valve1884 swing-tap1892 relay valve1894 Schrader1895 pilot valve1900 mixer valve1904 spool valve1908 spill valve1922 safety valving1930 three-way1939 1846 L. Herbert Engineer's & Mechanic's Encycl. II. 686 The brass bearings are fixed in a boss in the centre of the beam; m the air-pump; n the foot-valve..r the connexion with the relief valve. 1919 L. H. Morrison Oil Engines xii. 206 As a safeguard, the discharge line should be equipped with an oil separator and relief valve. 1991 Chem. Engineer 13 June 28/2 If your water curtains, fire pumps, relief valves, and so on are not adequately maintained they may fail when they are needed. relief well n. a hole drilled to intersect an oil or gas well in which there is a fire or blowout, so as to provide a route for water or mud to stop it. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > drilling for oil or gas > [noun] > hole drilled test-hole1909 relief well1914 slim hole1953 1914 Moberly (Missouri) Daily Monitor 22 Jan. 1/1 A relief well was first bored close to the old well. 1939 D. Hager Fund. Petroleum Industry ix. 222 The relief well was deflected so that it reached the burning hole at a depth of 7046 ft. 1991 New Scientist 23 Mar. 21/3 Drilling a relief well can take more than a month, which is one reason why fire fighters avoid using them. relief work n. (a) work provided by the authorities or state for occupying and paying the unemployed; (also) a project providing this; (b) charitable work intended to bring relief to those affected by poverty, famine, drought, etc. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > work > [noun] > other types of work church worka1225 kirk work1418 fieldwork1441 labour of love1592 life's work1660 shop work1696 outwork1707 private practice1724 tide-work1739 sales-work1775 marshing1815 work in progress1815 life-work1837 relief work1844 sharp practice1847 near work1850 slop-work1861 repetition work1866 side work1875 rework1878 wage-slavery1886 work in progress1890 war work1891 busywork1893 screen work1912 staff-work1923 gig work1927 knowledge work1959 WIP1966 telework1970 playwork1986 laboratory work2002 1844 Times 24 June 6/2 The surveyor of the roads..offering to able-bodied applicants for relief work on the roads at the full current rate of wages. 1879 Good Words 20 495/2 There is another young engineer superintending his dam, a relief work about two miles long. 1921 Z. Grey Call of Canyon (1924) i. 6 Carley had gone in for Red Cross and relief work with more of sincerity than most of her set. 1978 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 4 Sept. 7/4 Workers who have lost their jobs..are required to enter retraining programs... If thereafter they still cannot find a job, they are assigned to publicly financed relief work. 2005 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 24 July ii. 7/2 In an organized fashion that has evolved over years of relief work, aid workers distribute food to the thousands..of internally displaced populations. relief worker n. (a) a person who works for financial assistance or relief, esp. under some state scheme; (b) a person who works to bring relief to those affected by poverty, famine, drought, etc. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social attitudes > philanthropy > [noun] > charitableness or alms-giving > charitable person or almsgiver > professional charity worker relief worker1878 fundraiser1881 philanthropoid1937 1878 R. Knight Sir George Couper & Famine in North-West Provinces 4 The early symptoms of famine are quite unmistakable to those accustomed to witness them, and I have no hesitation in saying that they exist in the relief-workers near Agra. 1922 B. Hecht 1001 Afternoons in Chicago 240 Sholom Ash, who wrote this play, spent a time in villages abroad as a Jewish relief worker. 1974 R. A. Caro Power Broker iv. xx. 370 If this method disposed of malingerers and malcontents, it nonetheless proved difficult to whip the relief workers..into an efficient work force. 2002 Church Times 20 Sept. 5/1 Missionaries and relief workers have fled the Nyankunde area of the Congo. C2. a. Of, belonging, or relating to the Relief movement (see sense 9b), as Relief minister, Relief presbytery, Relief synod, etc. ΘΚΠ society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > other clergy > [noun] > Relief church Relief minister1767 1767 Scots Mag. 29 499/1 Three more ministers have been settled in Relief Congregations. 1768 Scots Mag. 30 277 A sentence was pronounced against Mr. William Cruden,..now Relief minister at Glasgow. 1821 J. Galt Ayrshire Legatees vii. 198 The inflamed gout of polemical controversy..had gumfiated every mental joint and member of that zealous prop of the Relief Kirk. 1837 J. R. McCulloch Statist. Acct. Brit. Empire II. iv. viii. 428 The Relief Synod..now comprehends 10 presbyteries including 107 congregations. 1897 J. Wright Scenes Sc. Life 37 James was a faithful member of the ‘Relief body’. 1978 W. L. Lingle & J. W. Kuykendall Presbyterians (rev. ed.) iv. 45 In 1900 the Free Church of Scotland joined the United Presbyterian Church, itself a merger of the Relief Synod with other smaller groups. 2005 Fife Free Press (Nexis) 9 Sept. The plate is dated 1771 and the group has scriptures which suggest a relief Kirk..formed in Cupar a year earlier. b. Relief Church n. a church arising from the Relief movement (see sense 9b). ΘΚΠ society > faith > sect > Christianity > Protestantism > Presbyterianism > Presbyterian sects and groups > [noun] > relief > collective relief1767 Relief Church1767 1767 Scots Mag. 29 499/1 At the Relief Church at Edinburgh. 1832 Church Patronage Reporter June 20 [A] population of 500,000 belonging to the Secession and Relief Churches alone. 1911 Eng. Hist. Rev. 26 588 He was joined by others, and in course of time the Relief Church, as it was called, came to number 113 congregations. 1962 G. S. Pryde New. Hist. Sc. 268 In direct competition with the parish schools stood about 350 schools belonging to the Relief and Secession Churches. 1994 Albion 26 61 Two years later a Relief Church was built in the town with Boston as its minister. C3. attributive. Designating a vehicle that provides replacement or supplementary transport, esp. (chiefly British) additional public transport at times of high demand (cf. sense 10).Recorded earliest in relief train n. (b) at Compounds 1b. ΚΠ 1872Relief train [see relief train n. at Compounds 1b]. 1887 R. Kipling Lett. Marque in From Sea to Sea (1899) I. 46 The axle was smashed... There was absolutely not one single relief vehicle on the whole road between Chitor and Udaipur. 1910 System Sept. 333 To accommodate the greater number of people who use trains during stormy weather, the traffic controller..puts into operation the ‘storm service’, consisting of ten additional trains an hour and ‘relief coaches’. 1926 N.Y. Times 7 Nov. x. 20/2 Should an axle break, or a gasket burn out when the bus is too far away from home for quick arrival of a relief bus. 1964 Pop. Sci. Jan. 148/2 Controllers can check schedules remotely, send out relief buses when delays occur. 1967 Times 11 Apr. 17/3 It had been rescheduled by B.O.A.C. as a ‘relief’ service to cope with heavy overbooking on the regular flight. 1983 Guardian 30 Nov. 2/3 The train..was a relief service to avoid congestion for ordinary passengers. 2009 Birmingham (Alabama) News (Nexis) 28 Apr. 1 b A relief bus was sent to the scene to take the uninjured passengers to their destination. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2022). reliefn.³ Brit. /rᵻˈliːf/, U.S. /rəˈlif/, /riˈlif/ Forms: α. 1600s releaue, 1600s releave, 1600s releiue, 1600s releue, 1600s relieue, 1600s–1800s relieve. β. 1600s reliefe, 1600s– relief. Origin: Probably of multiple origins. Probably partly a borrowing from Italian. Partly a borrowing from French. Etymons: Italian rilievo, relevo, relievo; French relief. Etymology: Probably originally (in α. forms) < Italian rilievo, †relevo, †relievo relievo n.¹; subsequently (in β. forms) < French relief fact of jutting out or projecting from a background (1544 in Middle French with reference to the contours of a person's mouth), moulding, carving, stamping, etc., in which the design stands out from a plane surface, also that part of a work of art which so projects (both 1547, originally with reference to sculpture), representation of solidity in two dimensions (1547 with reference to architectural drawings, 1577 with reference to painting), a composition, design, or work of art in which the design stands out from the surface (1571), vividness, distinctness, or prominence due to contrast or method of presentation (1637), extent to which the top of a fortification rises above the ditch (1830), manner or degree of variation in elevation of a part of the surface of the earth (1831) < relever relieve v., after Italian rilievo . Alternatively, it is possible that French relief may be the sole etymon, the α. forms arising by early association of the noun with relieve v. (compare forms at that entry, and also similar variation between forms with voiceless and forms with voiced fricative in relief n.²). Compare earlier relief n.¹, relief n.², and slightly later relievo n.¹ Compare also earlier relieve v. III.Compare Spanish relievo (late 16th cent.; < Italian or French), Dutch reliëf (1659 as relief ; < French), early modern German relievo (c1650; < Italian), German Relief (18th cent.; < French). With to bring into relief (see sense 2c) compare French mettre en relief, in same sense (1793). 1. a. Moulding, carving, stamping, etc., in which the design stands out from a plane surface so as to have a natural and solid appearance. Also: work done in this way; the part which so projects.Sometimes with modifying word specifying the degree of projection: see high relief n. 1, low relief n., bas-relief n. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > [noun] > relief relief1606 relievo1610 relevy1646 α. 1606 B. Jonson Hymenaei 646 Two great Statues..bearing vp the Cloudes, which were of Releue, embossed, and tralucent, as Naturalls. 1634 T. Carew Cœlum Britanicum 1 A great vaze of gold, richly enchased, and beautified with Sculptures of great Releiue. 1781 Young Gentleman & Lady's Philos. (ed. 3) II. 283 One would expect to see the Intaglio concave in a higher Degree; whereas, on the contrary, it is so much more a Cameo, or the Relieve in Proportion higher. β. 1662 J. Evelyn Sculptura v. 119 In bold, or faint touches; so as may best express the Reliefe.a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. iii. 539 You find the figures of many ancient Coins rising up in a much more beautiful relief than those on the modern.1758 R. Dossie Handmaid to Arts I. iii. iv. 380 Freeing all the cavities and hollow parts from the priming, which may..injure the relief of the carving.1879 H. Phillips Addit. Notes upon Coins 4 A remarkable difference exists between ancient and modern coins, the former being of extremely bold execution and high relief.1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 646/1 The relief [on the carved wooden doors] is very low, except where occasionally a monster's head projects from the general level.1908 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 305/2 The degree of relief varies..from the lowest possible to that highest relief which nearly approaches sculpture in the round.1974 W. Cahn Romanesque Wooden Doors Auvergne ii. 26 In the more conventional productions, the treatment of relief in wood sculpture does not differ from the procedure observed in stone.2008 Edmond (Oklahoma) Sun (Nexis) 4 Oct. The heaviest object, a marble sarcophagus,..is heavily decorated with carved relief. b. A composition, design, or work of art executed in this manner. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > [noun] > relief > article executed in embossment1620 relievo1627 relief1675 stamping1862 tondo1877 1675 Ld. Chamberlain's Warrant 25 Jan. in E. Boswell Restoration Court Stage (1932) 236 Relieues repr[e]sentinge ye Prosspect of Somersett House & ye Thames. 1682 G. Wheler Journey into Greece v. 381 In a Relieve below the cornish..is a Triumphal Chariot. 1745 R. Pococke Descr. East II. ii. 249 An altar..with two reliefs on it. 1773 Ann. Reg. 1772 ii. 131/2 They used reliefs sometimes with profusion; as in the Saxon or Norman gateway at Bury. c1820 S. Rogers Fountain in Italy 3 Richly wrought with many a high relief. 1834 E. Bulwer-Lytton Last Days of Pompeii I. i. i. 5 Upon its surface of bronze were elaborately wrought..reliefs of the Olympian games. 1875 C. D. E. Fortnum Maiolica viii. 68 Some pieces with reliefs and imitation Chinese marks also occur. 1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 381/1 Some fragments of the reliefs which adorned the pedestal are in the museum at Athens. 1965 Minneapolis Tribune 21 Mar. (Arts section) 1/4 His work evolved into the..aluminium reliefs that represent his latest effort. 2007 I. McDonald Brasyl 190 Every inch of the basilica was covered in carved, painted reliefs. c. in relief: in the manner of relief; so as to stand out as (a) relief. Frequently with modifying word, as in high (or middle, low, etc.) relief. [Probably ultimately after Italian in rilievo (see in relievo at relievo n.¹ Phrases); compare French en relief (1606 or earlier; after Italian). With in high relief compare French en haut-relief (see haut-relief n.) and alto-relievo n. With in low relief compare French en bas-relief (see bas-relief n.) and basso-relievo n. With in middle relief compare mezzo-relievo n.] ΚΠ 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. lxi. 94 The Castle with three Towers, and the Eagle of stone in relief [Fr. l'aigle de pierre releuez en bosse], which are the Arms of the Justiniani Genoese Lords. 1691 J. Ray Wisdom of God 68 Pillars and Statues and other carved works in relieve. 1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture II. 16/2 Mosaic work in relieve. 1782 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting (ed. 3) II. iii. 243 A wreath of enamelled flowers in relief, executed by Giles Legare. 1820 T. S. Hughes Trav. Sicily I. i. 19 In the pediment..of the eastern portico was sculptured in high relief the..Assault of Heaven by the Titans. 1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 215 The face of the block..is carved in relief into the desired design. 1867 H. M. Westropp Handbk. Archæol. ii. 274 It is considered the finest work in relief extant. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVII. p. xix The profiled figures in low relief. 1962 E. McCune Arts of Korea iii. ix. 169 An eye-pleasing double band and circular floral pattern carved in middle relief. 1996 M. Torelli in Cambr. Anc. Hist. (ed. 2) X. xx. iii. 952 The only important work in relief in the city of Rome was the temple of the Divine Augustus. 2. In extended use. a. Representation of solidity in two dimensions; the appearance of detachment of figures, etc., from a background by an arrangement of line, colour, or shading on a plane surface. Also: an example of this. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > relief and texture > [noun] > appearance or representation of relief projection1619 relievo1685 relief1699 modelling1865 1699 tr. H. de Blancourt Art of Glass ix. cci. 269 Those Figures before the Year 1500, had not half the sufficiency of Base, or Relief, as is required in Painting. 1702 A. Forbes tr. B. Lamy Treat. Perspective viii. 157 It is not the Colours alone that makes the Relief, but the Strokes of the Pencil, when they are done by the Rules of Perspective. 1789 P. Smyth tr. H. Aldrich Archit. (1818) 28 The painted cornices still of a relief that deceived every unapprized spectator. 1797 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 60/1 Relief, in painting, is the degree of boldness with which the figures seem, at a due distance, to stand out from the ground of the painting. 1856 D. Brewster Stereoscope ii. 46 The effect with which the artist gives relief to the painting exercises its whole effect in deceiving us. 1995 UNESCO Courier (Nexis) 1 July 41 The paintings of Tintoretto, Rubens and Delacroix..[with] their daring angles of view, their dramatic handling of relief, chiaroscuro and surfaces that twist and turn. b. Distinctness of outline due to contrast of colour; an instance of this. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > visibility > [noun] > state of being clearly visible > sharpness or definition > due to contrast projection1619 relief1776 pluck1889 1776 S. Neville Diary 25 May (1950) x. 244 Saw the 4th Regt..reviewed... Their black Trumpeters are a kind of relief (as the painters speak) to the other men. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. II. 81 A church with its dark spire in strong relief against the clear cold sky. 1875 C. Clery Minor Tactics ii. 21 To prevent their being seen in relief against the sky line. 1917 Theatre Arts Mag. Aug. 195 A group of figures merely stand out in relief against a lighted curtain. 1992 Artibus Asiae Supplementum 38 317/1 Trees..throwing out denuded branches in sharp relief against the backgrounds. c. figurative and in figurative context. Vividness, distinctness, or prominence due to contrast or method of presentation. Frequently as to throw (or bring, etc.) into relief. ΚΠ 1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 218 His evidence,..For want of prominence and just relief, Would hang an honest man. 1854 T. De Quincey Autobiogr. Sketches in Select. Grave & Gay II. 178 The combination of worldly prosperity..forced into strong relief and fiery contrast this curse written in the flesh. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 53 The horrors perpetrated by the Carthaginians..are brought out into full relief by Diodorus. 1889 Harper's Mag. July 220/2 Margaret and Miss Arbuser were ushered in through a double row of servants in livery..an array necessary to bring into relief the naturalness and simplicity of the entertainers. 1922 L. H. Wild Lit. Guide Bible 187 The solemn sadness of Psalm ninety is set in strong relief by the sunny brightness of happy, perfect trust in the Divine protection. 1991 K. Jones Learning not to be First ix. 103 Lizzie became pregnant, and the sickly young woman's fecundity threw Christina's own barrenness into stark relief. 3. a. Fortification. The extent to which the top of a fortification rises above the ditch. Now historical. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > earthwork or rampart > [noun] > parapet > difference in height between parapet and ditch relief1830 1830 J. S. Macaulay Treat. Defilement 7 The maximum of relief for the parapets of field fortifications is twelve feet. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) I. 104/2 The relief is the difference of level between the crest of the parapet and the bottom of the ditch. 1914 Notes Field Fortif. (Kansas Army Service Schools) i. 22 To enable the rifleman to fire down hill conveniently the relief of the parapet should be less than in the normal case. 1976 J. F. Luzader et al. Fort Stanwix iii. v. 142 It served to extend the exterior slope of the ramparts without adding height to the construction relief of the works. b. Physical Geography. The manner or degree of variation in elevation of a part of the surface of the earth (or other planetary body). ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > [noun] > relief relief1836 microrelief1926 1836 J. H. Alexander & J. T. Ducatel Rep. New Map Maryland 30 There has been introduced..the system of horizontal planes..exhibiting to an eye but a little familiarized the contour and relief of the ground. 1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) xvii. 299 The observer would find bolder reliefs than he has met with in the Thames valley in the almost mountainous hills of Wales. 1901 Science 15 Mar. 408/2 Close to the terminator, or sunrise line.., the eye overestimates the relief and sees the topography as grossly exaggerated as some of the published sketches of lunar mountains. 1952 F. J. Monkhouse Maps & Diagrams ii. 63 Since the earliest days of map-making, the depiction of relief has been one of the major problems of cartographers. 1977 A. Hallam Planet Earth 55/1 Dunes range..in size from structures with a relief of about 30 cm..up to forms several tens of metres high. 1990 Technol. Rev. Nov. 10/1 Some scientists have said the sharp relief of many mountains suggests these areas have recently grown. Compounds C1. General attributive (chiefly in sense 1). relief carving n. ΚΠ 1856 J. C. Robinson Catal. Soulages Coll. xiv. 177 The ornamentation forms a continued frieze of the richest and most elaborate relief carving. 1892 E. Rowe Hints on Chip-carving 60 In relief-carving the teaching must be individual, and consequently fewer students can be taught by one teacher. 1999 Metrop. Mus. Art Bull. 57 16/2 The relief carvings of the portal depict the martyrdom of Saint Denis. relief construction n. ΚΠ 1898 Geogr. Jrnl. 12 406 These relief constructions on large scales are the necessary complement to the lesser globes. 1962 Times 28 Feb. 5/1 At the same gallery Mr. Michael Rothenstein shows a small collection of his new relief-constructions. 1998 Providence (Rhode Island) Jrnl.-Bull. (Nexis) 4 June 5 d Many tiles also contained original designs and relief constructions of birds, flowers, boats and fish. relief decoration n. ΚΠ 1856 J. C. Robinson Catal. Wks. Decorative Art circulated in Provinc. Schools of Art 31 This..ware was contemporaneous with that just described, and precisely the same style of relief decoration is employed. 1960 Connoisseur's Handbk. Antique Coll. 236/1 There are various ways of producing relief decoration: by freehand modelling, free-incising or piercing or, more frequently, by pressing soft clay in plaster moulds. 2003 National Art Coll. Fund Rev. 2002 50/3 The most striking feature is the relief decoration..representing two olive fronds knotted together at the base. relief panel n. ΚΠ 1884 Harper's Mag. Feb. 350/2 (caption) Decorative relief panel. 1937 Burlington Mag. Feb. 59/2 The relief-panels of the Pisa pulpit. 1999 S. L. Kasfir Contemp. Afr. Art vi. 189 A series of relief panels made from narrow vertical strips of wood..on which designs are burned in. relief portion n. ΚΠ 1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 1162 The protuberant or relief portion of the die. 1953 Jrnl. Criminal Law, Criminol. & Police Sci. 44 384 We pass over the relief portion of the stamp a small rubber roller charged with ‘an invisible ink’. 2007 Blade (Toledo, Ohio) (Nexis) 16 Aug. Artist Joe Limauro hand-carved a [skateboard] deck with dozens of blocky..arrows, the relief portion painted brown. relief tablet n. [after German Relieftafel (1820 or earlier)] ΚΠ 1847 J. Leitch tr. K. O. Müller Ancient Art 482 Relief-tablets, which, with their small figures.., presented a kind of primer of antique sculpture. 1908 Times 11 July 12/3 A relief tablet on the pedestal of the statue commemorated the visit of the King and Queen. 2003 J. Murphy Novelli x. 110 Novelli's works..have either been destroyed or displaced over the years, as was the case with a pair of relief tablets in the Fordham Hospital. C2. relief block n. Printing a block (block n. 11) from which parts of the lettering or design are cut away, leaving the parts that will print standing up in relief. ΚΠ 1846 Hogg's Weekly Instructor 1 271/1 The first wooden relief blocks cut in Italy were used in the printing of little devotional books. 1878 W. de W. Abney Treat. Photogr. (1881) 183 Relief-block making is essentially difficult in almost every stage. 1972 J. Ross et al. Compl. Printmaker ii. 122 Next ink the surface of the relief blocks..using letterpress ink. 2008 Art in Amer. (Nexis) 1 Oct. Composed partly of impressions from big relief blocks,..[the print] is..layered with stamped, screenprinted and painted imagery. relief map n. [after German Relief-Landkarte (1843 or earlier) and (now more usually) Reliefkarte (1822 or earlier)] (originally) a map that represents the elevation of the land by means of a surface embossed or modelled in relief; a topographical model; (in later use also) a map that represents the relief of the land by a system of colouring, shading, contour lines, etc. ΚΠ 1831 Q. Jrnl. Educ. 1 190 This method of Kummer has been applied by him both to globes and to flat surfaces, or relief-maps (Relief-Erdkugeln und Landkarten), of various sizes. 1855 C. S. Cartée Elements Physical & Polit. Geogr. 5 Relief maps and relief globes, such as are so beautifully and accurately manufactured in Germany.., furnish the best means..for imparting right ideas of the earth's surface. 1880 ‘M. Twain’ Tramp Abroad xxxiii. 358 He showed us the whole thing, on a relief-map. 1905 Bull. Amer. Geogr. Soc. 37 761 Darling's Laboratory Manual..includes, in addition to the text, relief maps of the continents. 1971 R. W. Purton Let's look at Maps & Mapmaking 16 It is possible to buy relief maps moulded in plastic, on which the physical features are raised as..on a model. 1992 New Scientist 21 Nov. 19/1 The result is a computer relief map known as a digital elevation model. 2004 G. Woodward I'll go to Bed at Noon xi. 207 A relief map, under glass, of Windhover Hill and environs before their suburbanization. relief plate n. a printing plate having the parts to be printed raised in relief. ΚΠ 1854 Chambers's Information for People (new ed.) I. 258/2 By thus using the relief plate again and again, we may obtain any number of engraved copper plates. a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 749/2 Joyce's method of producing relief-plates for printing. 1995 Huntington Libr. Q. 58 296 Relief plates were printed with less pressure and did not leave pronounced platemarks. relief polish n. Materials Science relief polishing; the condition of a surface brought about by this. ΚΠ 1908 Bi-monthly Bull. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers Nov. 979 The best results are obtained by..relief polish, though etching is an aid to be employed in certain instances. 1933 R. H. Greaves & H. Wrighton Pract. Microsc. Metallogr. (ed. 2) xiv. 237 Relief polish is obtained..so that micro-constituents are visible under the microscope. 2002 R. E. Chinn Ceramography v. 47/3 (table) Other etching methods... Relief polish with 0.05 μm Al₂O₃. relief-polish v. Materials Science transitive to subject to relief polishing. ΚΠ 1896 Stevens Indicator 13 202 It at first retains a dull polish..when relief polished. 1968 E. Stach in Murchison & Westoll Coal & Coal-Bearing Strata i. 4 Nowadays coals are normally relief-polished and then examined under vertically incident light using immersion objectives. 2000 Materials Sci. & Engin. A. 286 226/2 The samples for SEM analysis were relief-polished. relief polishing n. Materials Science the abrasive polishing of the surface of a non-uniform material, so that softer constituents are mechanically worn away leaving harder constituents standing out in relief. ΚΠ 1896 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. 49 488 On beginning relief-polishing ferrite gives a dead polish, which under subsequent treatment becomes granular. 1924 R. H. Greaves & H. Wrighton Pract. Microsc. Metallogr. vi. 48 Both ‘relief polishing’ and ‘polish attack’ may be used to display the microstructure of steels containing cementite. 2003 Jrnl. Arthroplasty 18 727/1 These testing conditions..produce wear by relief polishing of the ceramic grains. relief print n. a print made using a relief process. ΚΠ 1855 National Mag. June 546/1 It was split in two, giving the relief prints on one side, and the intaglio on the other. 1924 Bull. Metrop. Mus. Art 19 74/2 The work of the Rhenish school is exemplified by two quite remarkable relief prints. 2005 Austral. Financial Rev. (Sydney) 22 Sept. 44/1 The older medium, woodcut, is a relief print. Every line on the print represents a narrow ridge of wood. relief printing n. printing from raised images, as in letterpress printing, block printing, woodcut printing, etc. ΚΠ 1842 Penny Cycl. XXIV. 451/2 In 1707 he presented to the Bank of England a specimen note, produced by block or relief printing. 1875 tr. H. W. Vogel Chem. Light & Photogr. xv. 245 It appears that the relief-printing gives the shades and dark parts better. 1976 E. Rhein Art of Print Making 69 In relief printing it is the raised parts of the printing block which receive the printing ink—usually from a roller pushed over the surface. 2008 Internet Bookwatch (Nexis) 1 Nov. [From] the early years of relief printing which includes woodcuts, and moveable metal type, to today's digital processes. relief process n. any of various printing processes (as letterpress printing, block printing, etc.) in which the area to be printed is raised above the surrounding background.In quot. 1871 short for photo-relief process: see photo-relief n. at photo- comb. form 2b. ΚΠ 1871 Edinb. Rev. Apr. 342 The photograph..which the relief process is intended to preserve. 1889 Cent. Dict. (at word) Relief processes, those processes in mechanical or ‘process’ engraving by which are produced plates or blocks with raised lines. 1965 C. Zigrosser & C. M. Gaehde Guide to Collecting Orig. Prints iv. 53 Relief processes, a general term that includes woodcuts, wood engravings, linoleum cuts, [etc.]. 2006 School Arts (Nexis) 1 May 26 The linoleum print is a relief process. Students..carve their designs into the linoleum and the raised surface is inked to create imprints. relief stamp n. a stamp engraved or carved in relief and used to impress a design; (also) a design made with this. ΚΠ 1852 T. Antisell Hand-bk. Useful Arts in Putnam's Home Cycl. III. 90/1 Every drawing on the metal plate is completely exact on the relieve stamp. 1890 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 630/2 Another method of [ceramic] decoration was by incised patterns, impressed from relief-stamps. 1901 Rep. U.S. Nat. Museum 1899 519 A relief stamp representing a coat of arms is placed above the band. 2008 Chicago Sun Times (Nexis) 19 July (Features section) 20 Art materials included magazines..and stickers for kids to make a collage... Saturday's scheduled activity is relief stamps and prints. relief stamper n. now historical a person employed in stamping engraved or embossed designs, esp. on stationary. ΚΠ 1864 W. Crisp Printers' Bus. Guide 64 Phillips, R., relief stamper, 60, Judd-street. 1912 in M. Bloomfield Readings in Vocational Guidance (1915) 673 Women earning over 20s. were found amongst folders, sewers, numberers, gold layers-on, relief stampers, and black borderers. 1990 S. Reynolds in E. Gordon & E. Breitenbach World Ill Divided iii. 51 In stationery, which employed a good many women, they worked as envelope-makers, relief-stampers,..black-borderers, and paper bag or box makers. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022). reliefadj. Brit. /rᵻˈliːf/, U.S. /rəˈlif/, /riˈlif/ Forms: Also with capital initial. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: English Relief. Etymology: < Relief, commercial name, apparently showing a specific use of relief n.² (compare quots. 1898, 1920). Now chiefly historical. Designating a kind of pen or nib, typically detachable from the holder and often having a broad point. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > writing materials > writing instrument > [adjective] > having specific type of tip relief1898 fibre-tip1974 1898 McClure's Mag. Nov. 78 (advt.) Esterbrook's relief pen... Ease in writing unsurpassed... 20 other varieties of stub pens. 1920 A. Huxley Limbo 144 He selected a pen—with a Relief nib he would be able to go on for hours without getting tired—and a large square sheet of writing-paper. 1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart ii. iii. 214 Today..she made the following purchases... Half a dozen Relief nibs. 1960 20th Century Oct. 343 The pen tray filled with compact sheaves of new relief nibs. 2003 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Nexis) 27 Sept. 3 Victorian inkstand with a crystal inkwell with dip pen and relief nib. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹?c1225n.²a1325n.³1606adj.1898
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reliefadj.

† reliefn.¹

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reliefn.³