Relief Lifts a Burden, and Also Raises a Carving
To relieve is to reduce pain or take over a duty. The Latin means to lift, which explains why a raised carving is called a relief.
To relieve is to lessen something unpleasant, or to take over from someone. The Latin *relevare* means to lift up, and that explains a puzzling third sense: in sculpture a *relief* is a design raised from a flat surface, and on a map a relief shows raised ground. All three lift something.
- To reduce pain or difficulty. *Relieve the pressure.*
- To take over a duty. *The night shift relieved them.*
- Relief — a raised carving. *A stone relief.*
- Relief — aid given in a crisis. *Famine relief.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | relieve | Relieve the symptoms. |
| Past | relieved | Relieved of duty. |
| Noun | relief | A sense of relief. |
| Adjective | relieved | Relieved to hear it. |
| Related | relevant | A relevant point. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The tablets relieve the pain but do not cure it.Medicine.
- He was relieved of his command.A polite way of saying removed.
- The frieze is carved in low relief.Sculpture.
Kinds of relief
- Emotional relief — the feeling when worry lifts
- Pain relief — analgesia
- Disaster relief — emergency aid
- Bas-relief — shallow carving raised from the surface
- Relief map — one showing height and terrain
From Old French *relever*, from Latin *relevare*, to lift up, from *re-* and *levare*, to raise — the same *levare* as in *elevate*, *lever* and *levity*.
Relieve or relive?
Relieve means to ease. Relive means to experience again. One letter and a very different sentence.
Why is a carving called a relief?
Because the design is raised from the background. High relief projects strongly, bas-relief only slightly.