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Origin and history of relieve

relieve(v.)

late 14c., releven, "alleviate (pain, etc.) wholly or partly, mitigate; afford comfort; allow respite; diminish the pressure of," also "give alms to, provide for;" also figuratively, "take heart, cheer up;" from Old French relever "to raise, relieve" (11c.) and directly from Latin relevare "to raise, alleviate, lift up, free from a burden," from re-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see re-), + levare "to lift up, lighten," from levis "not heavy" (from PIE root *legwh- "not heavy, having little weight").

The notion is "to raise (someone) out of trouble." From c. 1400 as "advance to the rescue in battle, bring help to a besieged place;" also "return from battle; recall (troops)." Meaning "release from duty" is from early 15c. Related: relieved; relieving.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to relieve

alto-rilievo(n.)

also alto-relievo, "a form in relief in which the objects stand out very much from the background," 1717, from Italian, literally "high-relief" in sculpture, from alto "high," from Latin altus (see alti-) + rilievo, from rilevare "to raise," from Latin relevare "to raise, lighten" (see relieve).

relevant(adj.)

"to the purpose, applicable, pertinent to the matter at hand," 1550s, from French relevant "depending upon," originally "helpful," from Medieval Latin relevantem (nominative relevans), from stem of Latin relevare "to lessen, lighten," hence "to help, assist; comfort, console" (see relieve). Not generally used until after 1800.

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releve
1825 as a dish; 1930 in ballet, "a lifted step, a raising of the body on point or points," literally "raised up," from French relevé, 19th century verbal noun from past participle of relever "to raise" (see relieve). Middle English had relevement "relief, succor" (mid-15c., from
relief
late 14c., "alleviation of distress, hunger, sickness, etc; state of being relieved; that which mitigates or removes" (pain, grief, evil, etc.)," from Anglo-French relif, from Old French relief "assistance," literally "a raising, that which is lifted;" from stressed stem of relev
still
Old English stille "motionless, stable, fixed, stationary," from Proto-Germanic *stilli- (source also of Old Frisian, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch stille, Dutch stil, Old High German stilli, German still), from suffixed form of PIE root *stel- "to put, stand, put in order," wi
redress
correct, reform" (a person; a sense now obsolete); late 14c., "restore, put right" (a wrong, error, offense); "repair; relieve...
exonerate
1520s, "to unload, disburden," a literal sense now obsolete; 1570s as "relieve (of a charge, blame, etc.) resting on one;...
cupping
There are two modes of cupping: one in which the part is scarified and some blood taken away to relieve congestion or inflammation...
bathroom
To go to the bathroom, euphemism for "relieve oneself; urinate, defecate," is from 1920 (in a book for children), but typically...
console
"alleviate the grief or mental distress of," 1690s, from French consoler "to comfort, console," from Latin consolari "offer solace, encourage, comfort, cheer," from assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see com-), + solari "to comfort" (see solace (n.)). Or
overtake
"to come up to, catch up with, catch in pursuit," early 13c., from over- + take (v.). According to OED (1989), originally "the running down and catching of a fugitive or beast of chase"; the editors find the sense of over- in this word "not so clear." The meaning "take by surpris
alleviate
early 15c., alleviaten, "to mitigate, relieve (sorrows, suffering, etc.)," from Late Latin alleviatus, past participle of alleviare "lift up, raise," figuratively "to lighten (a burden), comfort, console," from assimilated form of Latin ad "to" (see ad-) + levis "light" in weight

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