Where does “relieve” come from?
Relieve comes from Old French relever, from Latin relevare meaning to lighten or lift up again, derived from re- and levis meaning light, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots denoting lightness and lifting.
relieve (English): To ease from mental distress; to stop feeling...
Definitions
- To ease from mental distress; to stop feeling...
Ancestry of “relieve”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | releven | to relieve |
| 2 | Old French | relever | to lift again; to relift |
| 3 | Latin | relevō | to raise, lift up |
| 4 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 5 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 6 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |