# relief
## English
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɹɪˈliːf/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -iːf

### Etymology 1

From Old French relief (“assistance”), from Old French relever (“to relieve”), from Latin relevare (“to raise up, make light”). See also relieve.

#### Noun

relief (countable and uncountable, plural reliefs)
* The removal of stress or discomfort.
    Synonyms: ease, alleviation, liss, respite; see also Thesaurus:consolation
    I sighed with relief when I found out that my daughter hadn't got lost, but was waiting for me at home.
** 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, […] . It was with a palpable relief that he heard the first warning notes of the figure.
* The feeling associated with the removal of stress or discomfort.
    Synonyms: ease, alleviation, liss
** 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 20, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:Tony's face expressed relief, and Nettie sat silent for a moment until the vicar said “It was a generous impulse, but it may have been a momentary one, […] .”
** 2020 April 8, Philip Haigh, “Out of the current crisis we could see meaningful changes”, in Rail, page 56:DfT's action was greeted with great relief in many quarters.
* Release from a post or duty, as when replaced by another.
* The person who takes over a shift for another.
    Synonyms: stand-in, substitute, backup, fill-in
    Officer Schmidt can finally go home because his relief has arrived.
** 1963 February, “Motive Power Miscellany: London Midland Region”, in Modern Railways, page 136:At Leeds a relief crew was waiting—but without a relief locomotive; after some discussion, the new men offered to take on the A3. [...].
* Aid or assistance offered in time of need.
    Relief arrived quickly after the disaster.
** 1950 November, R. A. H. Weight, “A Railway Recorder in Southern England”, in Railway Magazine, page 772:On busy days, they also may be seen bowling along the Brighton main line, north of Keymer Junction, with a relief Newhaven boat express, […] .
* (law) Court-ordered compensation, aid, or protection, a redress.
* A lowering of a tax through special provisions; tax relief.
* A certain fine or composition paid by the heir of a tenant upon the death of the ancestor.
* (golf) Permission for a player to move their ball to a more convenient spot before taking a shot, under certain circumstances.

##### Derived terms

* ancillary relief
* breathe a sigh of relief
* comic relief
* corollary relief
* debt relief
* half-relief
* high relief
* hydrostatic pressure relief system
* indoor relief
* judicial relief
* low relief
* outdoor relief
* out-relief
* pain relief
* poor relief
* prayer for relief
* relief agency
* relief drinking
* relief pitcher
* relief printing
* relief teacher
* relief tube
* relief valve
* relief worker
* relieve
* sigh of relief
* strain relief
* tax relief
* that's a relief

##### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Etymology 2

From Italian rilievo, from rilevare (“to raise”), from Latin relevō (“to raise”).

#### Noun

relief (countable and uncountable, plural reliefs)
* (uncountable) A method of sculpture or other artwork in which shapes or figures protrude from a flat background.
* (countable) A sculpture or other artwork made with such a method.
    Synonym: embossing
* The apparent difference in elevation in the surface of a painting or drawing made noticeable by a variation in light or color.
* The difference of elevations on a surface.
    Synonyms: texture, topography
    the relief on that part of the Earth's surface
** 1947 January and February, “A Winter's Day on the Tyneside”, in Railway Magazine, page 29, photo caption:The approach to Newcastle (Central) Station from the north after a heavy snowfall. The complicated track layout is thrown into clear relief by the snow [referring to dark rails poking through the snow]
* Relative distinctness, perceived difference due to contrast.
** 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XXIV, page 41:And is it that the haze of grief ⁠Hath stretch’d my former joy so great? ⁠The lowness of the present state, That sets the past in this relief?
* (heraldry) The supposed projection of a charge from the surface of a field, indicated by shading on the sinister and lower sides.

##### Derived terms

* counter-relief
* high relief
* low relief
* mid relief
* relief map
* sunk relief

##### Translations
#### Adjective

relief (comparative more relief, superlative most relief)
* (of a surface) Characterized by surface inequalities.
* Of or used in letterpress.

### Anagrams

* refile, e-filer, relfie, Leifer, relife, liefer, Feiler

## Danish
### Etymology

Borrowed from French relief

### Noun

relief n (singular definite relieffet, plural indefinite relieffer)
* relief (work of art)

#### Inflection
### References

* “relief” in Den Danske Ordbog

## French
### Etymology

Inherited from Old French, from relever.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ʁə.ljɛf/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

relief m (plural reliefs)
* projection, relief
* (geography, mineralogy) relief, surface elevation
* (figuratively) contrast, definition, offset (against something else)
    (mettre en relief) Make evident; give emphasis (to something), make stand out, highlight.
* (sculpture) relief

#### Derived terms

* bas-relief
* haut-relief

#### Descendants

* → Bulgarian: реле́ф (reléf)
* → Danish: relief
* → Polish: relief
* → Romanian: relief
* → Russian: рельеф (relʹjef)
* → Swedish: relief
* → Turkish: rölyef

### Further reading

* “relief”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Polish
### Etymology

Borrowed from French relief.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈrɛ.ljɛf/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛljɛf
* Syllabification: re‧lief

### Noun

relief m inan (related adjective reliefowy)
* (sculpture) relief (sculpture or other artwork in which shapes or figures protrude from a flat backgroung)
    Synonym: płaskorzeźba
* (geology) relief, landform, terrain (area of land or the particular features of it)
    Synonym: rzeźba terenu

#### Related terms

* reliefowo

### Further reading

* relief in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* relief in Polish dictionaries at PWN
* relief in PWN's encyclopedia

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French relief.

### Noun

relief n (plural reliefuri)
* relief (difference of elevations on the Earth's surface)

#### Related terms

* reliefa
* reliefare
* reliefat

## Swedish
### Noun

relief c
* a relief (type of artwork)

#### Derived terms

* reliefkarta (“relief map”)

### References

* relief in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* relief in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* relief in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)