relative 
5. In music, having a close melodic or harmonic 
relation. Thus, relative chords, in a narrow sense, the 
triads of a given key (tonality) having as roots the suc- 
cessive tones of its scale; relative keys, keys (tonalities) 
having several tones in common, thus affording opportu- 
nity for easy modulation back and forth, or, more nar- 
rowly, keys whose tonic triads are relative chords of each 
other ; relative major, relative minor, a major key and the 
minor key of its submediant regarded with respect to each 
other. Also related, parallel. See cut under chord, 4. 
Relative beauty, beauty consisting in the adaptation 
of the object to its end. Relative chronology, in geol., 
the geolngical method of computing time, as opposed to 
the absolute or historical method. Relative end, ens, 
equilibrium. See the nouns. Relative enunciation, 
an enunciation whose clauses are connected by a relative : 
as, " Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be 
gathered together." Relative gravity, (a) The accel- 
eration of gravity at a station referred to that at another 
5059 
relay 
How, saith Ambrose, can any one dare to reckon the 
Holy Ghost among creatures'.' or who doth so render him- 
self obnoxious that, if he derogate from a creature, he may 
not suppose it to be relaxable to him by some pardon? 
Barrow, Works, II. xxxiv. 
To most of those who hold it, the difference between the 
Ego and the Non-ego is not one of language only, nor a 
formal distinction between two aspects of the same real- 
ity, but denotes two realities, each having a separate ex- 
istence.andneitherdependentpn theother. . . .They be- 
lieve tha 
selves," f 
senses there is a "thing in ILSCJI, WHICH IB uemnu LUG ---v -o- ' _ -. 
phenomenon, and is the cause of it. But as to what this relaxan(t-)s, ppr. of relaxare, relax: see relax.} 
thing is "in itself, "we, having no organs except our senses A medicine that relaxes or opens. Thomas, 
for communicating with it, can only know what our senses \f P d Diet 
tell us; and as they tell us nothing but the impression * = . ' - , t / 5n .. * r/ T, rflnrfitnt TIT) 
which the thing makes upon us, we do not know what it relaxate (re-lak sat), V. t. K L- relaxatlis,pf. 
is in itself at all. . . . of the ultimate realities, as such, ot relaxare, relax: see relax.} io relax, [ware.j 
we know the existence, and nothing more. . . . It is in this 
form that the doctrine of llie relativity of knowledge^ IB held o j 
at there is a real universe of "things in them- re 1 axan t (re-lak'sant), n. [= F. relaxan t = Sp. 
^^ W ^^n a tt2tt"'SMS l !SSStodaJ retajante = Pg. reiaxante = It. rilassaute, < L 
tneie is a tiling in itseii, wnicni8uemimi.no ,> __ - , , /_ n 
Man's body being relaxated ... by reason of the heat 
Same as specific gravity (which see, under _ 
tive ground Of proof, a premise which itself requires 
proof. - Relative humidity, hypermetropia, locality. 
See the nouns. Relative motion. See motion Rela- 
tive OPPOSites, the two terms of any dual relation. 
Relative place, the place of one object as defined by the 
situations of other objects. Relative pleasure or pain, 
a state of feeling which is pleasurable or painful by force 
of contrast with the state which preceded it. Relative 
pronoun, proposition, etc. See the nouns. Relative 
syllogism, a syllogism whose major premise is a relative 
enunciation : as, Where Christ is, there will also the faith- 
ful be ; but Christ is in heaven ; therefore there also will 
by the greater number of those who profess to hold it, at- f Venner, Via Recta ad Vitam Longam, p. 265. 
taching any definite idea to the term. _, , * r/ y-^-ri /^ T? \ 
J. S. Mill, Examination of Hamilton, 11. relaxation (re-lak-sa'shon), n. [< OF. (and F.) 
relator (re-la'tor), n. [< F. relateur = Sp. Pg. relaxation = Pr. relaxatio = S^.relajac 
relator = It. rclat&rc, < L. relator, a relater, nar- 
rator, < rcferre, pp. relatus, relate, etc. : see re- 
late.'] 1. Same as relater. 
When this place affords anything worth your hearing, 
I will be your relator. Donne, Letters, xxxi. 
2. In law, a person on whose suggestion or com- palate. 
a relaxing, < relaxare, relax, etc. : see 
1. The act of relaxing, or the state of being 
relaxed, (a) A diminution of tone, tension, or firmness ; 
specifically, in pathol., a looseness; a diminution of the 
natural and healthy tone of parts : as, relaxation of the soft 
plaint an action or special proceeding in the 
name of the state (his name being usually joined 
therewith) is brought, to try a question involv- 
ing both public and private right. 
the faithful be. Relative term, a term which, to become relatrix (re-la' triks), n. [ML., fern, of rela- 
the complete name of any class, requires to be completed ( -i j j a f ema i e relator or petitioner, 
by the annexation of another name, generally of another ""' > 
class : such terms are, for example, father of, the qualities oiot y. 
of, tangent to, identical with, man that is, etc. Strictly relatum (re-la'tum), n. ; pi. relata (-ta). [ML. : 
speaking, all adjectives are of this nature. Relative se e relate, n.] Same as relate. 
SSn'a of C motton le mea8Ure f a " y Part duratlon by The folium and its Correlate seem to be simul natura. 
means of ometMng considered in its rela . Grote, Aristotle, I. iii. 
tion to something else; one of two things hav- relax (re-laks'), v. [< OF. (and F.) relaxer = 
' Pr.relaxar, relachar = Sp. relajar = Pg. relaxar 
release, < L. relaxare, 
laxare, loosen, < laxus, 
loose': see te 1 . Doublet of release^.] I. trans. 
1 . To slacken ; make more lax or less tense or 
rigid; loosen; make less close or firm: as, to 
relax a rope or cord; to relax the muscles or 
sinews. 
Nor served it to relax their serried files. 
Milton, P. L., vl. 599. 
The self-complacent actor, when he views . . . 
The slope of faces from the floor to th 1 roof . . . 
Relax'd into a universal grin. Cowper, Task, iv. 204. 
Our friends and relatives stand weeping by, 
Dissolv'd in tears to see us die. 
Pomfret, Prospect of Death. 
There is no greater bugbear than a strong-willed relative 
in the circle of his own connections. 
Hawthorne, Seven Gables, xi. 
3. In gram., a relative word ; a relative pronoun 
or adverb. See I., 3. 4. In logic, a relative 
term. Logic Of relatives, that branch of formal logic 
which treats of relations, and reasonings concerning them. 
= Syn. 2. Connection, etc. See relation. 
relatively (rel'a-tiv-li), adv. In a relative man- 
ner; in relation or respect to something else ; 
with relation to each other and to other things ; 
not absolutely ; comparatively : often followed 
by to : as, his expenditure in charity was large 
relatively to his income Relatively Identical, 
the same in certain respects. Relatively prime. See 
prime, 7. 
relativeness (rel'a-tiv-nes), n. The state of be- 
ing relative or having relation. 
Therefore, while for a later period of the dialect-life of 
Hellas the expression "dialect " is one of peculiar relative- 
ness, it is a justifiable term for certain aggregations of 
morphological and syntactical phenomena in the earlier 
2. To make less severe or rigorous; remit or 
abate in strictness : as, to relax a law or rule. 
The statute of mortmain was at several times relaxed by 
the legislature. Swift. 
His principles, though not inflexible, were not more 
relaxed than those of his associates and competitors. 
Macaulay, Burlelgh and his Times. 
All lassitude is a kind of contusion and compression of 
the parts ; and bathing and anointing give ^relaxation or 
emollition. Bacon, Nat. Hist., 730. 
But relaxation of the languid frame 
By soft recumbency of outstretch'd limbs 
Waa bliss reserv'd for happier days. 
Cowper, Task, i. 81. 
(6) Remission or abatement of rigor. 
Abatements and relaxations of the laws of Christ 
Waterland, Works, VI. 25. 
The late ill-fortune had dispirited the troops, and caused 
an indifference about duty, a want of obedience, and a re- 
laxation in discipline in the whole army. 
Bruce, Source of the Nile, II. 373. 
(c) Remission of attention or application : as, relaxation 
of efforts. 
A relaxation of religion's hold 
Upon the roving and untutor'd heart 
Soon follows. Cowper, Task, ii. 569. 
There is no better known fact in the history of the world 
than that a deadly epidemic brings with it a relaxation of 
moral instincts. E. Sartorius, In the Soudan, p. 76. 
2. Unbending; recreation; a state or occupa- 
tion intended to give mental or bodily relief 
after effort. 
There would be no business In solitude, nor proper re- 
laxations in business. Addison, Freeholder. 
For what kings deem a toil, as well they may, 
To him is relaxation and mere play. 
Cowper, Table-Talk, 1. 156. 
Hours of careless relaxation. Macaulay. 
It is better to conceal ignorance, but it is hard to do so 
in relaxation and over wine. 
Heraclitus (f rans.), Amer. Jour. Psychol., I. 668. 
Letters of relaxation, in Scots law, letters passing the 
signet, whereby a debtor is relieved flora personal dili- 
gence, or whereby an outlaw is reponed against sentence 
of outlawry : now employed only in the latter sense. 
3. To remit or abate in respect to attention, 
assiduity, effort, or labor: as, to relax study ; to ,,.., ,, 
relax exertions or efforts. 4. To relieve from re laxative (rf-lak'"sa-TivJ,' a! and In. [< relax + 
attention or effort; afford a relaxation to; un- , a t-me.'\ I. a. Having the quality of relaxing; 
bend: as, conversation relaxes the mind of the - 
student. 5. To abate; take away. 6. To 
or free ; give up or over. 
The whole number of convicts amounted to thirty, of 
whom sixteen were reconciled, and the remainder relaxed 
to the secular arm : in other words, turned over to the 
civil magistrate for execution. Prescott. 
p"eriSds-ofiangua g e; when dialectVrelations were more rel i e 7 e from constipation; loosen; open: as, 
sharply defined. Amer. Jour. Philol., VII. 444. medicines relax the bowels. 7. To set loose 
relativity (rel-a-tiv'i-ti), n. [= F. relativit^, < 
NL. *relativita(t-')s,<. LL. relatives, relative: see 
relative."] 1. The character of being relative ; 
relativeness ; the being of an object as it is by 
force of something to which it is relative. Spe- 
cifically 2. Phenomenality ; existence as an 
immediate object of the understanding or of ex- 
perience; existence only in relation to a thinking 
mind The doctrine of the relativity of existence, 
the doctrine that the real existence of the subject, and also 
of the object, depends on the real relation between them. 
The doctrine of the relativity of knowledge. The 
phrase relativity of knowledge has received divergent sig- 
nifications, (a) The doctrine that it is impossible to have 
knowledge of anything except by means of its relations to 
the mind, direct and indirect, cognized as relations. (6) 
The doctrine of phenomenalism, that only appearances 
can be known, and that the relations of these appearances 
to external substrata, if such there be, are completely in- 
cognizable. This doctrine is sometimes associated with a 
denial of the possibility of any knowledge of relations as 
such, or at least of any whose terms are not independently 
present together in consciousness. It would therefore 
better be denominated the doctrine of the impossibility of 
relativity of cognition, (c) The doctrine that we can only 
become conscious of objects in their relations to one an- 
other. This doctrine is almost universally held by psy- 
chologists, relax* (re laks') n 
Relative and correlative are each thought through the relcl ' i ' V 1 ? 
other, so that in enouncing relativity as a condition of the 
thinkable in other words, that thought is only of the rela- 
tive thisis tantamount to saying that we think one thiiiK . A iav4 /v5 laL-a'\ . r Tf W/7ccn Twarv ( 
only as we think two things mutually and at once; which re | aXt ( re - laks \\ " L- ",. relasso, weary, <. 
again is equivalent to the doctrine that the absolute (the ML. relaxus, relaxed: see relax, V.} Kelaxed; 
non-relative) is for us incogitable, and even inconceivable, loose. 
Sir W. Hamilton, Metaph., App. V. (c). The Blne ws, . . . when the southern wind bloweth, are 
When a philosopher lays great stress upon the relativity more relax. Bacon, Nat. Hist., 381. 
of our knowledge, it is necessary to cross-examine his _.i a _ a i.i- r.,p laV'sn hll n t< relnr + nMf 1 
writings, and compel them to disclose in which of its relaxaplO (le-laK sa-Dl), a. |> r ?'? x , ^ -OWS.J 
many degrees of meaning lu- understands the phrase. . . . Capable of being relaxed or remitted. 
laxative. 
II. n. 1. That which has power to relax ; a 
laxative medicine. 
And therefore you must use relaxatives. 
B. Jonson, Magnetick Lady, Ui. 4. 
2. That which gives relaxation ; a relaxation. 
The Moresco festivals seem . . . relaxatives of corporeal 
labours. L. Addison, West Barbary, xvii. 
Syn. 1. To loose, unbrace, weaken, enervate, debilitate, relay 1 (re-la'), n. [< ME. relays, < OF.relais, 
2. To mitigate, ease. 4. To divert, recreate. res t ; stop, remission, delay, a relay, F. relais, 
II. intrans. 1. To become loose, feeble, or re lay, = It. rilasso, relay; cf. rilasso, relasso, 
languid. 
His knees relax with toil. Pope, Iliad, jcxl. 309. 
2. To abate in severity; become more mild or 
less rigorous. 
The bill has ever been petitioned against, and the muti- 
nous were likely to go great lengths, if the Admiralty had 
not bought off some by money, and others by relaxing in 
the material points. Walpole, Letters, II. 147. 
She would not relax in her demand. 
Lamb, Imperfect Sympathies. 
3. To remit in close attention ; unbend. 
No man can fix so perfect an idea of that virtue [justice] 
as that he may not afterwards find reason to add or relax 
therefrom. A. Tucker, Light of Nature, II. iii. 24. 
The mind, relaxing into needful sport, 
Should turn to writers of an abler sort. 
Cowper, Retirement, 1. 715. 
[< relax, ?>.] Relaxation. 
Labours and cares may have their relaxes and recrea- 
tions. FeUham, Resolves, ii. 58. 
same as rilascio, a release, etc. ; < OF. relaisser, 
release, let go, relinquish, intr. stop, cease, rest, 
= It. rilassare, relasciare, relax, release, < L. re- 
laxare, loosen, let loose, allow to rest: see relax 
and. release^.] 1. A fresh supply, especially of 
animals to be substituted for others; specifi- 
cally, a fresh set of dogs or horses, in hunting, 
held in readiness to be cast off or to remount 
the hunters should occasion require, or a relief 
supply of horses held in readiness for the con- 
venience of travelers. 
Ther overtok I a gret route 
Of huntes and eke of foresteres, 
With many relayes and lymeres. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 362. 
Rob. What relays set you? 
John. None at all ; we laid not 
In one fresh dog. 
B. Jonson, Sad Shepherd, i. 2. 
Through the night goes the diligence, passing relay 
after relay. Thackeray, Philip, xxix. 
2. A squad of men to take a spell or turn of 
work at stated intervals; a shift. 3. Gener- 
ally, a supply of anything laid up or kept in store 
for relief or fresh supply from time to time. 
Who call aloud . . . 
For change of follies, and relayi of joy. 
Young, Night Thoughts, ii. 250. 
