| 释义 |
▪ I. † reˈlief1 Obs.
Forms: 3–5 relef, (5 -leff, 6 -leffe), 4–5 relif, -lyf, (4 pl. -lyves), releif, 5 relefe, -leue, (pl. -leues, -ys), 4–6 releef, (6 -leefe); 5 relyef, 6 relief(e.
[a. OF. relef, relief (also relie, relier) ‘the remnant..of meat left at a meale’, also ‘rubbidge, or the ruines of ouerthrowne houses’ (Cotgr.); cf. Prov. releu, Sp. relieve, It. rilevo, rilievo, vbl. n. corresponding to relieve v., and literally meaning ‘that which is lifted or removed’.
The cognate forms appear to establish the connexion of the F. word in sense 2 with relever, but the Eng. evidence suggests that OF. (or AF.) had also a form *relif representing L. reliqu-um (compare OF. antif:—L. antīqu-um) from which the senses placed under 1 are directly derived. The writer of the Ancren Riwle clearly associated the word with relinquĕre, and in Wyclif and Trevisa it usually renders reliquiæ and frequently interchanges with relic.]
1. a. That which is left or given up by one.
a1225Ancr. R. 168 Þe vifte reisun is, noble men & wummen makieð large relef. Auh hwo makien largere relef þene þe oðer? Ibid., Nis þis large relef? Nis þis muchel loaue?
b. The remains of a thing; remainder; residuum.
1382Wyclif Isa. x. 19 And the releef of the wode of the wilde wode for fewenesse shul be noumbred. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 97 Ierom seiþ þat of þe releef of þis citee were i-buld two grete citees. Ibid. IV. 155 Also Silla þe consul..was in Campania forto destroye al þe relif of þe bataille þat heet [bellum] sociale. c1440Promp. Parv. 101/1 Cracoke, relefe of molte talowe or grese. Ibid. 428/2 Releef, or brocaly of mete (or blevynge).
c. The remainder, remnant, or surviving portion of a people or company.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 113 Whan he hadde..i-brouȝt þe relyf of Israel and of Iuda out of Egipte. Ibid. V. 251 Þe poure relyf þat was i-left of þe Britouns. 1520Maundevil's Chron. Eng. iii. 24/2 [Antiochus] tourned to y⊇ pore releues of y⊇ Jewes. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 26 b, Wednesday the .xxvj. daye of July the releffe of the speres brought in askry.
d. The remains, or some part of the remains, of a person deceased; a relic. rare.
c1449Pecock Repr. i. xix. 114 Placis in whiche holi men han lyued..or in whiche the relifis or the relikis of hem abiden. Ibid. ii. viii. 182 Where the bodi or bonis or eny releef or relik of a Seint mai be had.
2. The remains of food left after a meal; leavings, scraps.
a1300Cursor M. 13512 Þe releif gadir þai in hepes, And fild þar-wit tuelue mikel lepes. 1382Wyclif Exod. viii. 3 Froggis that shulen steyn vp..in to the relyues of thi metis. 1426Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 4570 Be cause ye Axen the releff Off hys dyner, on & alle. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour G v b, His wyf brought hym mete whiche she gate and was gyuen to her of the releef of other. 1552Huloet, Reliefe, or broken meate, fragmen, fragmentum. 1582Bentley Mon. Matrones ii. 10 Pouertie hath taken me,..compelling me to eate the reliefe of swine. 1589Rider Bibl. Schol. 1206 Reliefe after dinner, reliquiæ prandij.
▪ II. relief2|rɪˈliːf|
Forms: 4–6 relef, (6 -leffe), relefe, 5–6 releef, 5–7 releefe, -leif, (5 -leyf, Sc. raleiff, -leyff, 6 releief), 6–7 releife; 5–6 relyef(e, 5–7 reliefe, 6– relief; 5 relyf, relijf, 6 relyfe. Also 4–6 releue, -leve, (6 Sc. -lieve), 5 relyue; pl. 5–6 releves, -is, -ys, 5–7 relieves.
[a. OF. relief, vbl. n. from relever to relieve. The general senses in Eng. are rare in French, and the word had prob. a greater currency in AF. than on the Continent.]
1. a. A payment, varying in value and kind according to rank and tenure, made to the overlord by the heir of a feudal tenant on taking up possession of the vacant estate. Now only Hist. except in Sc. Law. (Cf. relieve v. 8 a.)
So OF. relief (Godef.), med.L. relevium, relevamentum, relevatio, etc. (see Du Cange).
c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 214 Of wardes & relefe [F. gardes et relefs] þat barons of him held. Ibid., Tille ilk a lordyng suld ward & relefe falle. 1375Barbour Bruce xii. 320 Gif ony deis in this battaill, His air, but ward, releif, or taill, On the first day his land sall weild. c1425Wyntoun Cron. iii. v. 782 [He] gert þaim al..halde þar lande of hym in cheyff Fra þine wiþe serwice and raleyff. 1482Rolls of Parlt. VI. 207/2 The Kyng, his heires, and the Quene severally shall have Relieves after the deth of such Auncestres as soo held of thaim. 1503–4Act 19 Hen. VII, c. 15 Preamble, Lordes of whom..tenementes be holden in socage [be defrauded] of ther releffes. 1597Skene De Verb. Sign. s.v. Recognition, The superiour may recognosce, and reteine the samin [lands] vntil securitie be maid to him for payment of the relieue. 1647N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. lii. (1739) 91 The Relief of the Country⁓man is the best Beast that is in his possession; and of him that farmeth his Lands, a year's rent. 1766Blackstone Comm. 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. 1776in Stonehouse Axholme (1839) 144 On surrender, the Lord is not entitled to any heriots or reliefs. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) I. 34 The doctrine of reliefs was also adopted from the laws of Normandy. 1838W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 844 The casualty of relief is a sum exigible from an heir on his entry with the superior. 1874Stubbs Const. Hist. ix. I. 261 The change of the heriot to the relief implies a suspension of ownership, and carries with it the custom of livery of seisin.
b. Hist. Formal acknowledgement of feudal tenure made by a vassal to his lord. rare.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 202 Merschalle & stiward þerfor about dos sende, & homage & feaute he askes & releue [rime chefe]. 1525Ld. Berners Froiss. II. 295 The bysshop..counsayled that every man shulde be newe sworne, and renewe their releves. Ibid. 559 There the erle of Armynake and the Erle of Rodays made their reliefe & homage to the kynge. 1828–40Tytler Hist. Scot. i. (1864) I. 28 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. Ease or alleviation given to or received by a person through the removal or lessening of some cause of distress or anxiety; deliverance from what is burdensome or exhausting to the mind; mental relaxation; † hence also, entertainment, sport (quot. 1575).
1390Gower Conf. III. 23 Thus for the point of his relief The coc which schal his mete arraie [etc.]. c1400Leg. Rood (1871) 96 Ful grete grace was þore schewd And grete releue to lerd and leude. 1509Hawes Past. Pleas. xxxii. (Percy Soc.) 159 They hoped for to have releve Of theyr imprison which did them so greve. a1547Surrey in Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 26 That man is farre from blisse, That doth receiue for his relief none other gayn but this. 1575Laneham Let. (1871) 18 If he wear taken onez, then what shyft..he woold woork too wynde hym self from them..waz a matter of a goodly releef. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iii. iii. 20 Tell thy griefe, It shall be eas'd, if France can yeeld reliefe. 1601? Marston Pasquil & Kath. (1878) ii. 361 That's the best reliefe To drowne all care, and ouerwhelme all griefe. c1640Milton Sonn., To Nightingale 12 Thou from yeer to yeer hast sung too late For my relief. 1716–8Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. I. xxxi. 107 She is young, and her conversation would be a great relief to me. 1781Cowper Truth 455 The soul, reposing on assured relief, Feels herself happy amidst all her grief. 1818Shelley Julian 565, I sought relief From the deep tenderness that maniac wrought Within me. 1857Buckle Civiliz. I. vii. 432 It is a relief to turn from so painful a subject. 1876E. Mellor Priesth. viii. 372 There is..a great relief in unburdening to a friend the sins and sorrows of one's life.
b. Ease from, or lessening of, physical pain or discomfort.
1691Ray Creation i. (1692) 83 The Warming-stone..hath been found to give ease and relief in several Pains and Diseases. 1704T. Fuller Med. Gymn. (1711) 3 Most Men indulge themselves in the Expectation of..sudden Relief. 1789W. Buchan Dom. Med. (1790) 451 No lasting relief can be procured till these [humours] are either corrected or expelled. 1820Shelley Hom. Merc. ii, Now when..Heaven's tenth moon chronicled her relief, She gave light to a babe all babes excelling. 1879J. C. Morison Gibbon 172 He underwent another operation and as usual experienced much relief.
c. An agreeable change of object to the mind or one of the senses, esp. that of sight.
1712Addison Spect. No. 333 ⁋23 He has..interspersed several Speeches, Reflections, Similitudes, and the like Reliefs, to diversify his Narration. 1833H. Martineau Brooke Farm i. 4 A clump of beeches..were a relief to the eye. 1870F. R. Wilson Ch. Lindisf. 81 The north walls..were built as plain lengths of masonry, without buttresses, windows, mouldings, or relief of any kind.
d. A gradual widening in the bore of a gun-barrel towards the muzzle.
1824P. Hawker Shooting (ed. 3) 8 This relief has the effect of making the gun shoot as close as it can do. 1858Greener Gunnery 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.
3. a. Aid, help, or assistance given to a person or persons in a state of poverty or want; spec. (formerly) assistance in money or necessary articles given to the indigent from funds administered under the Poor Law or from parish doles, or (more recently), financial assistance afforded to those in need by the state under other legislative provisions.
c1400Christ's Compl. 268 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 207 My seruantis suffren hungir & coolde, Releef of þee ȝit haue þei noon. c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 901 If þou heer-after come vn-to swych pref, Thow wolt ful sore triste [v.r. thurste] after releef. 1472–3Rolls of Parlt. VI. 48/2 To the verrey honour and worship of God, and grete releyf and sustenaunce of pore people. 1548Latimer Ploughers (Arb.) 23 They woulde bequeth greate summes of money towarde the releue of the pore. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, i. i. 15 To reliefe of Lazars, and weak age Of indigent faint Soules..A hundred Almes-houses. 1632Sanderson Serm. 384 The competent releefe of the orderly poore. 1669W. Montagu in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 446 The Church charities and the secular reliefs. 1743J. Morris Serm. ii. 47 They..cruelly refuse to the distressed..relief. 1794Burke Lett., to Mrs. Crewe (1844) IV. 257 In their idea of relief, there is always included something of punishment. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 421 The men, women, and children who receive relief are..one tenth of the inhabitants. 1865Pall Mall G. 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. 1921Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 22 Mar. 1/3 More than $400,000 has now been expended by the city in providing relief, it will be pointed out. 1957R. 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’. 1965Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 12 Aug. (1970) 309 Their world is so narrow, and in their homes—frequently broken homes with one parent or an aged grandparent on relief—the vocabulary is often limited to grunts or profanity. 1966G. Jackson Let. 3 Mar. in Soledad Brother (1971) 95 I've heard men brag about..taking money from black women who are on relief. 1978S. Brill Teamsters vii. 285 He didn't make a lot... But we never went on relief.
†b. Sustenance. Obs.
c1440Chron. R. Glouc. (Rolls) 827 Pur meseise him þuder drof & defaute of biliue [MS. δ, relyue]. 1483Rolls of Parlt. VI. 260/1 Greate Games of Swannes of ther owne, by the whiche the greateste parte of their relyf and lyvyng hath be susteyned in longe tyme passed. 1575Gascoigne Flowers Wks. 23 With gonnes we kill the Crowe, For spoyling our releefe. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage iv. viii. (1614) 382 There is a faire Stone-Hospitall.., allowing three daies reliefe for horse and man freely.
†c. Support, sustentation of a place. Obs. rare.
1463Bury Wills (Camden) 35, [I bequeath] to the nunnys of Thetford, eche nunne vjd. and to the releef and comfort of the place xs. 1464Paston Lett. II. 146 Every man to do his part to the well fare, socour, and releve of our monasteri. 1601Act 43 Eliz. c. 4 §1 Landes, Tenements, [etc.]..given..for or towardes Reliefe, Stocke or Maintenance for Howses of Correction.
†d. A fresh supply or supplies of some article of food or drink. Obs.
1575Laneham Let. (1871) 45 Cam thear in a too dayz space, from sundry friendz, a releef of a xl. tunn, till a nu supply was gotten agayn. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage ix. xiv. (1614) 911 Besides this reliefe of Fowles, they had plentie of Tortoise egges. 1725De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 108 Frequent relief of fresh water, of plants, fowl, and fish, if not of bread and flesh.
4. a. Assistance in time of danger, need, or difficulty; aid, help, or succour.
c1500Melusine 270 Many of them for theyre relyf supposed to haue entred into thadmyral shipp & they were drowned. 1529Wolsey in Four C. Eng. Lett. (1880) 11, I with all myn shal not onely ascrybe thys my relef unto you, but [etc.]. c1586C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxii. ii, To headlong him their thoughtes devise, And past reliefe to tread him down. 1603R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. 3 In sodaine hurliburlies of warre it is commonly seene, that courage affoorde more reliefe then policie. 1659Hammond On Ps. cii. 6 For any relief from man, I am as distitute and hopeless of it. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 184 At night Boats and Pilots went off to her Relief. 1773Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. v, Prudence once more comes to my relief. 1817Brougham in Parl. Deb. 754 Though the measure did not embrace the relief of the agricultural districts, it was hoped to afford a temporary relief to that species of distress which [etc.]. 1846J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 215 The soil is the only resource of permanent relief.
b. Aid or succour rendered to persons or places endangered by war; in later use esp. deliverance of a besieged town, etc. from the attacking force.
a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 90 Where as we entended the relief and reskue of you and our sayd subiectes and citie of Turnay. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ii. 173 Agricola..sayles into Britannie wt a chosen and waled armie, in releife of the Romanis. 1617Moryson Itin. ii. 107 The warre, which is farre from the reliefe of any friend. 1724De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 27 They had given over the relief of Casal. 1781Gibbon Decl. & F. xxx. III. 165 Stilicho..advanced..to the relief of the faithful city. 1810Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1838) VI. 257, I..have been prevented from attempting its relief only by the certainty which I had that the attempt must fail. 1869Freeman Norm. Conq. xii. (1875) III. 168 He hastened..to the relief of Ambrières.
†c. A body of men coming to the relief of a person or place. Obs. rare.
1647N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. lxiv. (1739) 137 [She] retired with the Prince to a relief which they brought from beyond Sea. 1670Cotton Espernon 594 He gave advice to Fight the Relief so soon as ever it began to appear.
†d. Assistance towards saving or effecting something. Obs. rare.
1659J. Leak Waterwks. 26 A rare and necessary Engin, by which you may give great reliefe to Houses that are on Fire. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ i. iv. §3 We are like then to have little relief for finding out of truth in the Poetick Age of Greece.
5. a. Release from some occupation or post of duty; in later use spec. of the replacing of a sentinel or watch by a fresh man or body of men. Also fig.
1513Douglas æneis viii. Prol. 29 Luffaris langis only to lok in thair lace Thair ladeis lufely, and louk but let or releifis. 1602Shakes. Ham. i. i. 8 For this releefe much thankes. 1633Earl of Manchester Al Mondo (1636) 61 In Warres we often releefe the Watch. Life is a Warfare, yet hath no releefe but Death. 1799Instr. & Reg. Cavalry (1813) 273 The number of men necessary for the relief of the videts (or sentries), are then to be marched off. 1799Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1838) I. 27 Between foraging parties and outline picquets, we have not men enough left to give a relief. 1847Infantry Man. (1854) 101 All advanced piquets must have three reliefs. 1889Infantry Drill 285 See that the sentries are visited every hour between reliefs.
b. One who relieves another on duty; esp. a soldier or body of soldiers relieving another man or company on guard. Also transf. of animals.
1709Swift in Tatler 10 Sept., Little Parson Dapper, who is the Common Relief to all the lazy Pulpits in Town. 1822Regul. & Orders Army 219 Officers on Guard..are to inspect all Reliefs, both on going out to their Posts, and returning from them. 1826Scott Woodst. xv, We are to have a relief from Oxford to-morrow. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. II. i. 19 McGary, my relief, calls me. 1889Infantry Drill 271 The reliefs are kept separated a few yards from the remainder of the piquet, to avoid disturbing them.
transf.1882Floyer Unexpl. Baluchistan 145, I gave orders..that the present set [of donkeys] should not be abandoned until their reliefs came.
c. A dish succeeding another.
1788W. Dyott Diary 1 Sept. (1907) I. 53 We had ninety dishes, fifty-five the first course and relieves, and thirty-five the second course. 1824Byron Juan xv. lxiii, ‘Soupe à la Beauveau’, whose relief was dory.
6. a. Deliverance (esp. in Law) from some hardship, burden, or grievance; remedy, redress.
1616in Cary 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. 1670Modern Rep. (1682) I. 305 You give relief every day where there are express Clauses, that there shall be no relief in Law or Equity. 1743Viner's Abridgm. XVIII. 328 Release of all Demands will bar a Demand of a Relief, because the Relief is by reason of the Seigniory. 1761in Struthers Hist. Relief Ch. 287 A presbytery for the relief of Christians oppressed in their Christian privileges. 1771Junius Lett. lix. (1788) 318 No successful attempt has ever been made for the relief of the subject in this article. 1817W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 1131 The court refused to grant relief. 1867Chambers' Encycl. s.v. United Presb. Ch., Never were forced settlements more shameless... Relief was felt to be a necessity.
b. Sc. Law. Release from an obligation; also, a right, under certain circumstances, to reimbursement of expenses incurred by some obligation. Freq. in bond, claim, clause, etc. of relief.
c1680Dallas 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. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) IX. 692/1 The cautioner, who binds himself at the desire of the principal debtor, has an actio mandati or of relief against him. 1838W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 131 The cautioner's claim is for relief from the principal obligation, with the interest and expenses paid by him.
c. Church, etc., of Relief, or the Relief: (see 9 a).
1764Scots Mag. XXVI. 289/1 The presbytery generally known by the name of the presbytery of Relief. 1766Ibid. XXVIII. 274/2 Now settled minister of the church of Relief at Edinburgh. 1767Ibid. XXIX. 285/2 Another minister, and a preacher,..have..gone into the Relief. 1794Z. Yewdall in Arminian Mag. Aug. (1795) 371 Here I found a large parish church, two meeting-houses, and a Kirk of relief. 1847Mem. Union of Secession & Relief Churches 7 To begin and maintain a friendly intercourse with the Synod of Relief. Ibid., The overture proposed only intercourse with the Relief as a sister Church.
7. Alleviation of some pain, burden, etc.; remission of a tax; spec. remission of income-tax due on a proportion of earned income.
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 26 b, But also it is relefe and remyssyon of payne to y⊇ soules in purgatory. 1535in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. II. 340 That I may haue..some releeve of the greate charge wiche the words of the Kyngs Lettres importe. 1667Milton P.L. x. 976 What thoughts in my unquiet brest are ris'n, Tending to som relief of our extremes. 1860White Maltster's Guide 157 Full directions for applying for relief of malt duty in the case of damage. 1889A. 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. 1916[see income-tax]. 1931Economist 28 Feb. 456/2 A resident British holder of ‘Kaffirs’ is subject to income tax on dividends at the full rate of British tax (4s. 6d. in the {pstlg}), less Dominion tax relief (at present 2s. 3d., namely, half the British rate). He is thus liable at the ‘reliefed’ rate of 2s. 3d. 1969Times 2 May 25 Tax relief can reduce the cost of your investment by up to {pstlg}16.10.0 per {pstlg}100 of premium. 1972Accountant 17 Aug. 191/1 The strict ban against relief for part-time directors and employees. 1973P. O'Donnell Silver Mistress iv. 72 If it's a phony charity account..they probably get tax relief. 1977Money Which? Mar. 123/3 If you become entitled to tax relief on a new outgoing or allowance,..tell the taxman straightaway.
†8. Hunting.
a. Of the hare or hart: The act of seeking food; feeding or pasturing. (Cf. relieve v. 2 e.) Also fig. of persons. Obs.
c1410Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) xxxiv, For gleidly she will not be þere as she hathe pastured, but in tyme of releefe. 1575Turberv. Venerie 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. Ibid. 171 Houndes will haue better sente of an Hare when shee goeth towards the reliefe, than when shee goeth towardes hyr Forme. 1637B. Jonson Sad Sheph. ii. vii, A Witch..will be found, or sitting in her fourme, Or els, at releife, like a Hare. 1668Dryden Even. Love iv. ii, What, Are you going to reliefe by Moonshine?
†b. The giving of food to young hounds after a successful chase. Obs. rare—1.
1590Cokaine 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. (See quots.) Obs. rare.
16022nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. 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. Ibid. 857 O sir, but your reliefe is your chiefest and sweetest note, that is sir, when your hounds hunt after a game vnknowne.
9. attrib.
a. Relief Church (cf. 6 c), a Scottish ecclesiastical body, founded by Thomas Gillespie and others in 1761 in assertion of the right of congregations to elect their own ministers and in protest against the aggressions of the General Assembly; in 1847 it amalgamated with the United Secession to form the United Presbyterian Church. So Relief minister, Relief presbytery, Relief synod, etc.
1767Scots Mag. XXIX. 499/1 Three more ministers have been settled in Relief Congregations. Ibid., At the Relief Church at Edinburgh. 1768Ibid. XXX. 277 A sentence was pronounced against Mr. William Cruden,..now Relief minister at Glasgow. 1832Church Patronage Reporter June 20 [A] population of 500,000 belonging to the Secession and Relief Churches alone. 1846McCulloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) II. 296 The Relief Synod..now comprises 10 presbyteries, including 109 congregations.
b. In various senses, as relief agency, relief bill, relief boat, relief committee, relief duty, relief fund, relief guard, relief line, relief organization, relief pallet, relief party, relief team, relief train, relief valve, relief work, relief worker; relief road, a road designed to divert traffic from congested areas; relief roll U.S., a list of people receiving state relief; relief ticket, a small sum of money given to alleviate hardship; relief well, a hole drilled to intersect an oil or gas well in which there is a fire or a blow-out, so as to provide a route for water or mud to stop it.
1951T. Sterling House without Door i. 7 A Jewish *relief agency..which trained refugee Jews in manual skills. 1971Piven & Cloward in M. Edelman Polit. Lang. (1977) iii. 53 Relief agencies are..compelled to invent rituals of degradation and to subject their clientele to them.
1846J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. p. viii, His Grace did oppose the *Relief Bill in every stage of its progress.
1897Kipling Capt. Cour. 167 They were turned into *relief-boats to carry fish.
1842Picayune (New Orleans) 23 Jan. 2/5 The *Relief Committee of the Firemen's Charitable Association, will meet..at the Firemen's Insurance Office. 1862Times 14 Apr. 11/4 Proud men..who go before ‘relief committees’ and submit to be questioned about their wants. 1892J. 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.
1838W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 129 This preference..extends to non-entry and *relief duties.
1842S. Bamford Passages in Life of Radical II. xxi. 104 He had some money in hand belonging to the *relief fund. 1863Observer 26 Apr. 5/4, I cannot..recommend too strongly..to your lady readers' kind consideration, the ‘Cracow Ladies' Committee’, who are connected with the ‘Ladies’ Relief Fund Committee’ in London. 1877Daily News 1 Nov. 4/6 The relief fund is satisfactorily increasing. 1914Relief fund [see flag-day s.v. flag n.4 7].
1848Buckley Iliad 250 Who had come as a *relief guard from fertile Ascania.
1878F. S. Williams Midl. Railw. 94 The benefit of a through *relief line for their main traffic to and from the north.
1952M. McCarthy Groves of Academe (1953) vi. 120 We're not yet *relief organisations, you must admit. 1974Whig-Standard (Kingston, Ontario) 11 Jan. 7/1 A..graduate..with many years of experience with relief organizations. 1978Internat. Relations Dict. (U.S. Dept. State Library) 15/2 U.S. agricultural surpluses are donated to ‘friendly governments’ through non-profit relief organizations.
1881C. A. Edwards Organs 52 Perhaps the most simple and ingenious of these peculiar pallets is one termed the *relief pallet.
1933J. Buchan Prince of Captivity i. iii. 85 Now he has gone and lost himself and..they're talking of a *relief party.
1940Gloss. Highway Engin. Terms (B.S.I.) 9 *Relief road,..a road to enable through traffic to avoid congested areas or other obstructions to movement. 1959Oxford Mag. 26 Feb. 276/1 A relief road is invented, and it must then be guessed how much of the flow along each existing route will be diverted into it. 1960Oxford Mail 10 Oct. 4/6 The idea of relief roads to link the suburbs with the centre is one that deserves to be considered. 1976S. Wales Echo 27 Nov. 5/7 At present it is planned to join the relief road to Hirwaun Road near Tudor Terrace.
1937C. Himes Black on Black (1973) 127 Remembering suddenly the time the Belle Vernon Milk Company dumped hundreds of gallons of milk into the gutters of Cedar Street when the *relief rolls in Cleveland were the highest they'd ever been. 1938Sun (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. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 17 Jan. 5/2 Americans who are elderly, blind, disabled, or who have impoverished dependent children—generally, Americans who are on the relief rolls. 1977M. Edelman Polit. Lang. v. 80 Social work counseling..apparently has little or no effect on client satisfaction, behavior, or the size of relief rolls.
1970Guardian 28 Jan. 3/8 *Relief teams are racing against the rainy season, due in the Nigerian delta. 1972Ibid. 22 May 10/6 There is a drought at present in the villages... The relief teams have moved in.
1848United Irishman 20 May 224/2 A beautiful and fertile island..became gradually poorer and poorer... 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. 1976J. 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.
1883Leisure Hour 282/2 The *relief train came up.
1849Weale Dict. Terms, *Relief-valve, a valve belonging to the feeding apparatus of a marine-engine.
1925A. B. Thompson Oil-Field Explor. & Devel. I. vii. 299 On reaching a rich gas sand the Gleason well ran wild at a rate of about 15,000,000 cub. ft. per day... A *relief well failed to effect its object, although sunk only 135 ft. away. 1939D. Hager Fund. Petroleum Industry ix. 222 The relief well was deflected so that it reached the burning hole at a depth of 7046 ft. 1975Petroleum Rev. XXIX. 238/3 Just one month after the fire had started, the first relief well commenced injecting sea water. 1979Tucson (Arizona) Citizen 3 Oct. 3a/3 Two relief wells are being drilled at an angle to Ixtoc 1 in an effort to rechannel the gusher to a controlled well.
1879Good Words 495/2 There is another young engineer superintending his dam, a *relief work about two miles long. Ibid. 566/2 A collector, after having tried to induce some Mhars to go to a famine relief work close by, who refused, looking over a wall saw two of them devouring a dead dog. 1895Kipling Day's Work (1898) 170 They've gone as far as to admit extreme local scarcity, and they've started relief-works in one or two districts. Ibid. 202 Then in the evening he pitches in a twenty-page demi-official to me, saying that the people where he is might be ‘advantageously employed on relief-work’. 1915R. Fry Let. 28 July (1972) II. 388 I've been a long time in France—went to see the Quaker relief work. 1921Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 22 Mar. 1/3 At the end of its resources as far as relief work is concerned, the city of Vancouver will urge the Dominion and Provincial Governments to carry a burden which it believes should rightfully be borne by them.
1938R. Finlayson Brown Man's Burden 16 They were *relief workers and flax-cutters, working hard and making good money. 1973Guardian 9 June 13/4 Latham belongs to that new breed of white man—the relief worker.
Add:[3.] [a.] Also with preceding defining word, as drought relief, famine relief, etc.
1876, etc. [see famine relief s.v. famine n. 5 a]. 1977Time 30 May 25/2 Carter gestured toward the normally fertile valley and promised farmers that he would speed the flow of $2.2 billion in drought relief. 1987M. Hocking Irrelevant Woman vi. 70 The doctor's young wife..had called at the vicarage to sell flags for cancer relief. 1989Newsday 21 Aug. i. 31/3 Some have lobbied for federal disaster relief for the states hardest hit by the epidemic.
[5.] d. Baseball. in relief, in the position or role of relief pitcher.
1976Billings (Montana) Gaz. 27 June 7–f/5 At Omaha, he pitched in relief only once in three years and even in his short stays with the Royals he was used as a starter most of the time. 1979Arizona Daily Star 1 Apr. c1/5 After Johnson walked Brad Mills to load the bases again, Steve Conroy entered the game in relief. 1984N.Y. Times 8 Apr. 1/3 Righetti has pitched for the first time in relief and has pitched well.
[9.] [b.] relief pitcher Baseball = reliever n. 1 d, esp. a player who regularly fulfils this role.
1914Harper's Weekly 23 May 25/1 Ayers performed the trick while acting in the rôle of *relief pitcher. There is perhaps no more trying situation in baseball than that of rescue twirler. 1976Billings (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.
▪ III. relief3|rɪˈliːf|
Also 7 releue, releiue, releave, 7–8 relieve.
[Orig. ad. It. rilievo ‘raised or imbossed worke’ (Florio), f. rilevare to raise, elevate; afterwards a. the synonymous F. relief: see prec. and relievo1.]
1. a. In the plastic arts, the elevation or projection of a design, or parts of a design, from a plane surface in order to give a natural and solid appearance; also, the degree of such projection; the part which so projects.
high relief († or great relief), low relief, and middle relief: see the articles alto-, basso-, mezzo-relievo, and bas-relief; also high a. 1 b, low a. 1 b.
α1606B. Jonson Hymenæi D iv b, Two great Statues..bearing vp the Cloudes, which were of Releue, embossed, and tralucent, as Naturalls. a1634T. Carew Coelum Brit. (1640) 209 A great vaze of gold, richly enchased, and beautified with Sculptures of great Releiue. 1691Ray Creation i. (1692) 82 Pillars and Statues and other carved Works in relieve. 1726Leoni tr. Alberti's Archit. II. 16/2 Mosaic work in relieve.
β1662Evelyn Chalcogr. (1769) 107 In bold or faint touches, so as may best express the relief. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 94 The Castle with three Towers, and the Eagle of stone in relief, which are the arms of the Justiniani Genoese Lords. 1702Addison Dial. Medals Wks. 1721 I. 539 You find the figures of many ancient Coins rising up in a much more beautiful relief than those on the modern. 1762–71H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) II. 243 note, A wreath of enamelled flowers in relief, executed by Giles Legare. 1839Ure Dict. Arts 215 The face of the block..is carved in relief into the desired design. 1851D. Wilson Preh. Ann. iv. ii. (1863) II. 247 Floriated patterns in relief. 1879H. Phillips Notes Coins 4 A remarkable difference exists between ancient and modern coins, the former being of extremely bold execution and high relief.
b. A composition or design executed in relief.
α1682Wheler Journ. Greece v. 381 In a Relieve below the cornish..is a Triumphal Chariot. 1726Leoni tr. Alberti's Archit. II. 15/2 The mold itself is taken..from any relieve, by pouring some liquid plaister over it.
β1717Berkeley Jrnl. Tour Italy 20 Jan., Wks. 1871 IV. 529 The reliefs with which the outside of the Pillar is covered from top to bottom. c1820S. Rogers Italy, Fountain 3 Richly wrought with many a high relief. 1834Lytton Pompeii i. i, Upon its surface of bronze were elaborately wrought..reliefs of the Olympian games. 1875Fortnum Maiolica viii. 68 Some pieces with reliefs and imitation Chinese marks also occur.
2. a. The appearance of solidity or detachment given to a design or composition on a plane surface by the arrangement and disposition of the lines, colours or gradations of colour of which it is composed; hence, distinctness of outline due to contrast of colour.
1789P. Smyth tr. Aldrich's Archit. (1818) 28 The painted cornices still of a relief that deceived every unapprized spectator. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) 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. 1820W. Irving Sketch Bk. II. 81 A church with its dark spire in strong relief against the clear cold sky. 1875Clery Min. Tact. ii. (1877) 21 To prevent their being seen in relief against the sky line.
b. fig. Vividness, distinctness, or prominence due to contrast or artistic presentation.
1781Cowper Conversat. 127 His evidence..For want of prominence and just relief, Would hang an honest man. 1839De Quincey Recoll. Lakes Wks. 1862 II. 74 The combination of worldly prosperity..forced into strong relief and fiery contrast this curse written in the flesh. 1878R. B. Smith Carthage 53 The horrors perpetrated by the Carthaginians..are brought out into full relief by Diodorus.
3. a. Fortif. (See quots.)
1834–47J. S. Macaulay Field Fortif. ii. (1851) 42 The relief of a work is the height of its interior crest above the bottom of the ditch. 1879Cassell's Techn. Educ. I. 104/2 The relief is the difference of level between the crest of the parapet and the bottom of the ditch.
b. Phys. Geog. The contour of some part of the surface of the earth considered with reference to variations in its elevation.
1865Lubbock Preh. Times xi. (1878) 373 Assuming the pre⁓existing relief or excavation rather of the surface. 1878Huxley Physiogr. xvii. 299 The observer would find bolder reliefs than he has met with in the Thames valley in the almost mountainous hills of Wales.
4. attrib. and Comb. (senses 1 and 2), as relief-block, relief-carving, relief construction, relief decoration, relief panel, relief-plate, relief-polish (n. and vb.), relief-polishing, relief portion, relief-print, relief-printing, relief-process, relief-stamper, relief-tablet; relief map, a map that indicates the relief of the land, either by the analogous form of its surface or by a system of colouring, shading contour lines, or the like; Relief nib [Relief, proprietary name], a manufacturer's name for a special kind of nib.
1878Abney Photogr. (1881) 183 *Relief-block making is essentially difficult in almost every stage.
1892E. Rowe Hints on Chip-Carving 60 In *relief-carving the teaching must be individual, and consequently fewer students can be taught by one teacher. 1970Oxf. Compan. Art 960/2 Such sculpture is not properly relief carving (e.g. the figures of gods and giants on the Great Altar of Zeus at Pergamum).
1962Times 28 Feb. 5/1 At the same gallery Mr. Michael Rothenstein shows a small collection of his new *relief-constructions.
1960Connoisseur'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. 1960R. G. Haggar Conc. Encycl. Cont. Pott. & Porc. 380/1 Relief decoration, figures, flowers, and ornamental decoration formed in the mould, or moulded or modelled separately and luted to the ware with slip.
1876Nature 11 May 23/1 *Relief-maps and Models illustrating Geological Phenomena all over the world. 1880‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad xxxiii. 358 He showed us the whole thing on a relief map. 1934J. Bygott Introd. Map Work & Pract. Geogr. vi. 43 After inspecting even a small-scale relief map of Northern England..we realise that the longest rivers flow from the eastern slopes towards the North Sea. 1971R. 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.
[1908Trade Marks Jrnl. 4 Mar. 347 *Relief..Pens..Esterbrook Steel Pen Manufacturing Company..New York..21st November 1907.] 1920A. 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. 1938E. Bowen Death of Heart ii. iii. 214 Today..she made the following purchases... Half a dozen Relief nibs. 1960Twentieth Century Oct. 343 The pen tray filled with compact sheaves of new relief nibs.
1937Burlington Mag. Feb. 59/2 The *relief-panels of the Pisa pulpit. 1961Times 21 Dec. 3/3 He makes relief-panels and sculpture from charred wood.
1884Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. 749/2 Joyce's method of producing *relief-plates for printing.
1933Greaves & Wrighton Pract. Microsc. Metallogr. (ed. 2) xiv. 237 *Relief polish is obtained..so that micro-constituents are visible under the microscope. 1968E. 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.
1902C. Salter tr. H. F. V. Jüptner's Siderology ii. iii. 121 *Relief polishing shows up the hardest constituents, especially cementite, in relief. 1924Greaves & Wrighton Pract. Microsc. Metallogr. vi. 48 Both ‘relief polishing’ and ‘polish attack’ may be used to display the microstructure of steels containing cementite.
1839Ure Dict. Arts 1162 The protuberant or *relief portion of the die.
1875tr. Vogel's Chem. Light xv. 245 *Relief-prints are much more like photographs than the light-prints.
Ibid., It appears that the *relief-printing gives the shades and dark parts better.
1889Cent. Dict., *Relief processes, those processes in mechanical or ‘process’ engraving by which are produced plates or blocks with raised lines. 1940Chambers's Techn. Dict. 713/2 Relief process (Photog.), any colour process using matrices. 1965Zigrosser & Gaehde Guide Coll. Orig. Prints iv. 53 Relief processes, a general term that includes woodcuts, wood engravings, linoleum cuts, [etc.].
1850J. Leitch tr. C. O. Müller's Anc. Art §415 (ed. 2) 579 Larger compositions were introduced..on *relief-tablets. |