relief 
burden, so that some ease is obtained ; allevia- 
tion; succor; comfort. 
Bycause it was a deserte yle, there was no thynge to be 
f ounde that myght be to our relefe, nqther in vy taylles nor 
otherwyse, whiche discomforted vs right moche. 
Sir R. Giajlforde, Pylgrymage, p. 62. 
Wherever sorrow is, relief would be. 
Shak., As you Like it, iii. 6. 86. 
To the catalogue of pleasures may accordingly be added 
the pleasures of relief, or the pleasures which a man ex- 
periences when, after he has been enduring a pain of any 
kind for a certain time, it comes to cease, or to abate. 
Bentham, Introd. to Morals and Legislation, v. 16. 
2. That which mitigates or removes pain, grief, 
want, or other evil. 
What releefe I should haue from your Colony I would 
satisfle and spare them (when I could) the like courtesle. 
Capt. John Smith, Works, II. 80. 
Pity the sorrows of a poor old man, . . . 
Oh ! give relief, and Heaven will bless your store. 
T. Moss, Beggar's Petition. 
He [James II.] ... granted to the exiles some relief 
from his privy purse, and, by letters under his great seal, 
invited his subjects to imitate his liberality. 
M Hi-mi In ii, Hist. Eng., vl. 
3. In Great Britain, assistance given under 
the poor-laws to a pauper: as, to administer 
outdoor relief. 4. Release from a post of 
duty by a substitute or substitutes, who may 
act either permanently or temporarily; espe- 
cially, the going off duty of a sentinel or guard 
whose place is supplied by another soldier. 
Tor this relief, much thanks ; 'tis bitter cold, 
And I am sick at heart. Shak., Hamlet, i. 1. 8. 
5. One who relieves another, as from a post of 
duty; a soldier who relieves another who is on 
guard; collectively, a company of soldiers who 
relieve others who are on guard. 
Even in front of the National Palace the sentries on 
duty march up and down their beats in a slipshod fashion, 
while the relief loll about on the stone benches, smoking 
cigarettes and otherwise making themselves comfortable. 
Harper's Mag., LXXIX. 820. 
6. In sculp., arch., etc., the projection (in 
painting, the apparent projection) of a figure 
or feature from the ground or plane on which 
it is formed. Belief is, in general, of three kinds : high 
relief (alto-rilievo), low relief (basso-rilieix>, bas-relief), and 
middle or half relief (tnezzo-rilievo). The distinction lies 
in the degree of projection. High relief is that in which 
5062 
High Relief. The Rondanini mask of Medusa in the Glyptothek, 
Munich illustrating the late beautified type of the Gorgon. 
the figures project at least one half of their natural cir- 
cumference from the background. In low relief the fig- 
ures project but slightly from the ground, in such a man- 
ner that no part of them is entirely detached from it, as 
in medals, the chief effect being produced by the treat- 
ment of light and shadow. Middle or half relief is inter- 
mediate between the other two. The varieties of relief 
are still further distinguished as stiacciato rilievo, or very 
flat relief, the lowest possible relief of which the projec- 
tion in parts hardly exceeds the thickness of a sheet of 
paper ; and cam-rilievo, hollow relief, also called intaglio 
rilevato, or ciclunaglyphir sculpture, an Egyptian form of 
relief obtained by cutting a furrow with sloping sides 
around a figure previously outlined on a stone surface, 
leaving the highest parts of the finished work on a level 
with the original surface-plane. See also cut in next 
column, and cuts under orant, Proserpine, alto-rilievo, and 
bat-relief. 
You find the figures of many ancient coins rising up in 
a much more beautiful relief than those on the modern. 
Addison, Ancient Medals, iii. 
7. A work of art or decoration in relief of any 
of the varieties described above. 
On each side of the door-place (of several grottosl there 
are rough unfinished pillars cut in the rock, which sup- 
port a pediment, and over the door there is a relief of a 
spread eagle. Pococke, Description of the East, II. i. 135. 
Hollow-relief or Cavo-rilievo Sculpture. Court of Edfu, Egypt ; 
Ptolemaic age, ad century B. C. 
8. In her., the supposed projection of a charge 
from the surface of the field, represented by 
shading with a heavier bounding-line on the 
sinister side and toward the base than on the 
dexter side and toward the chief. Thus, if an es- 
cutcheon is divided into seven vertical stripes, alternately 
red and white, it would not be blazoned paly of seven gules 
and argent, as the rule is that paly Is always of an even 
number, but the sinister side of three alternate stripes 
would be shaded to indicate relief, and the blazoning would 
be gules, three pallets argent, the assumption being that 
the pallets are in relief upon the field. 
9. In phys. geog., the form of the surface of 
any part of the earth, considered in the most 
general way, and with special regard to differ- 
ences of elevation : little used except in the 
name relief-map, by which is meant a geograph- 
ical or geological map in which the form of 
the surface is expressed by elevations and de- 
pressions of the material used. Unless the scale 
of such relief-maps is very large, there must be consider- 
able exaggeration, because differences of vertical eleva- 
tions in nature are small as compared with superficial ex- 
tent. Kelief-raaps are occasionally made by preparing a 
model of the region it is desired to exhibit, and then pho- 
tographing this model under an oblique illumination. 
I In- relief of the surface is also frequently indicated on 
maps by various colors or by a number of tinta of one 
color. Both hachure and contour-line maps also indicate 
the relief of the surface, to a greater or less extent, accord- 
ing to their scale and artistic perfection. Thus, the Du- 
four map of Switzerland, especially when photographed 
down to a small size, has in a very striking degree the 
effect of a photograph from an actual model, although in 
reality a hachure-map. 
10. Iii fort., the perpendicular height of the 
interior crest of the parapet above the bottom 
of the ditch. 11. Prominence or distinctness 
given to anything by something presenting a 
contrast to it, or brought into close relation 
with or proximity to it; a contrast. 
Here also grateful mixture of well-match' d 
And sorted hues (each giving each relief, 
And by contrasted beauty shining more). 
Cowper, Task, iii. 634. 
Miss Brooke had that kind of beauty which seems to be 
thrown into relief by poor dress. 
George Eliot, Middleman*, i. 
12. In hunting, a note sounded on the horn on 
reaching home after the chase. 
Now, Sir, when you come to your stately gate, as you 
sounded the recheat before, so now you must sound the 
releefe three times. Retwmfrom Parnassus (1606), ii. 6. 
13t. What is picked up; fragments left ; broken 
meat given in alms. 
After dener. ther shall come all ffre sowerys, and take 
the relef of the mete and drynke that the fforsayde M. and 
shopholderis levyth. English Gilds (E. E. T. S-X p. 315. 
14. In law, that which a court of justice awards 
to a suitor as redress for the grievance of which 
he complains. 15. In feudal law, a fine or 
composition which the heir of a tenant hold- 
ing by knight's service or other tenure paid 
to the lord at the death of the ancestor, for the 
privilege of succeeding to the estate, which, on 
strict feudal principles, had lapsed or fallen 
to the lord on the death of the tenant. This re- 
lief consisted of horses, arms, money, etc., the amount of 
which was originally arbitrary, but afterward fixed by law. 
The term is still used in this sense in Scots law, being a 
sum exigible by a feudal superior from the heir who en- 
ters on a feu. Also called casualty of relief. 
relieve 
On taking up the inheritance of lands, a relief Iwas paid 
to the king]. The relief originally consisted of arms, ar- 
mour and horses, and was arbitrary in amount, but was sub- 
sequently "ascertained," that is, rendered certain, by the 
Conqueror, and fixed at a certain quantity of arms and ha- 
biliments of war. After the assize of arms of Henry II., 
it was commuted for a money payment of 1008. for every 
knight's fee, and as thus fixed continued to be payable ever 
afterwards. S. Domll, Taxes in England, I. 25. 
Absolute relief, in fort., the height of any point of a work 
nbovi- the bottom of the ditch. Alternative relief, in 
law, different modes of redress asked in the alternative, 
usually because of uncertainty as to some of the facts, or 
because of a discretionary power in the court to award 
either. Bond of relief. See bondi. Constructive 
relief, in furl., the height of any point of a work above 
the plane of construction. Conversion of relief. See 
conversion. Indoor relief, accommodation in the poor* 
house, as distinguished from outdoor relief, the assistance 
given to those paupers who live outside. [Great Britain.] 
Infeftment of relief. See iiifeftment. outdoor re- 
lief. See indoor relief. Parochial relief. See paro- 
chial. Relief Church, a body of 1'resbyterian dissenters 
in .Scotland, who separated from the Established Church 
on account of the oppressive exercise of patronage. 
Thomas Gillespie, its founder, was deposed by the Gen- 
eral Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1752, and or- 
ganized the " Presbytery of Relief " on October 22d, 1761. 
In 1847 the Relief and United Secession churches amal- 
gamated, forming the United Presbyterian Church. Re- 
lief law. See Intel. Relief processes, those processes 
in mechanical or "process" engraving by which are pro- 
duced plates or blocks with raised lines, capable of being 
printed from like type, or together with type, in an ordinary 
press. Relief satine, or satine relief. .Same as raise d 
satin-stitch (which see. under satin- stitch). Roman Cath- 
olic Relief Acts. See Catholic. Specific relief, in law, 
action of the court directly on the person or property, as 
distinguished from that in which an award of damages only 
is made, to be collected by execution. =Syn. 1. Mitiga- 
tion. 2. Help, aid, support. 
relief-fill (re-let"ful),a. [<relief+ -ful.~\ Full 
of relief; giving relief or ease. 
Never was there a more joyous heart, . . . ready to burst 
iU bars for relief-ftd expression. 
Richardson, Clarissa Harlowe, III. lix. 
reliefless (re-lef'les), a. [< relief + -less.] 
Destitute of'relief, in any sense. 
relief-map (re-lef'map), n. See relief, 9. 
relief-perspective (re-lefper-spek'tiv), n. 
The art of constructing homological figures in 
space, and of determining the relations of the 
parts of bas-reliefs, theatrical settings, etc., to 
make them look like nature. Every such repre- 
sentation refers to a fixed center of perspective and to 
a fixed plane of homology. The latter in a theater set- 
ting is the plane in which the actors generally stand ; in 
a bas-relief it is the plane of life-size figures. Every natu- 
ral plane is represented by a plane cutting it in a line lying 
in the plane of homology. Every natural point is repre- 
sented oy a point in the same ray from the center of per- 
spective. The plane of homology represents Itself, and 
the center of perspective represents itself. One other 
point can be taken arbitrarily to represent a given point. 
There is a vanishing plane, parallel to the plane of homol- 
ogy, which represent* the portions of space at an infinite 
distance. 
relief- valve (re-lef'valv), n. 1. In a steam-en- 
gine, a valve through which the water escapes 
into the hot- well when shut off from the boiler. 
2. A valve set to open at a given pressure 
of steam, air, or water; a safety-valve. 3. A 
valve for automatically admitting air to a cask 
when the liquid in it is withdrawn. 
relief-work (re-lef'werk), n. Work in road- 
making, the construction of public buildings, 
or the like, put in hand for the purpose of af- 
fording employment to the poor in times of pub- 
lic distress. [Eng.] 
Those. . . whobelievethatanyemploymentgivenbythe 
guardians on relief-works would be wasteful and injurious 
may find that the entire question is one of administration, 
and that such work proved a success in Manchester dur- 
ing the cotton famine. Contemporary Rev., L1II. 61. 
roller (re-U'er), n. [< rely* + -ei-i.] One who 
relies or places confidence. 
My friends [are] no reliers on my fortunes. 
Fletcher, Tamer Tamed, i. S. 
relievable (re-le'va-bl), a. [< relieve + -able.] 
Capable of being relieved ; fitted to receive re- 
lief. 
Neither can they, as to reparation, hold plea of things 
wherein the party is relievable by common law. 
Sir M. Hale. 
relieve (re -lev'), .; pret. and pp. relieved, 
ppr. relieving. [Early mod. E. also releete; < 
ME. releven, < OF. relever, F. relever = Pr. Sp. 
Pg. relevar = It. rilevare, lift up, relieve, < L. 
relevare, lift up, raise, make light, lighten, re- 
lieve, alleviate, lessen, ease, comfort, < re-, 
again, + levare, lift: see levanfi, levity, etc., 
and cf. relief, relerant, etc.] I. trans. It. To 
lift up ; set lip a second time ; hence, to collect ; 
assemble. 
Supposing ever, though we sore smerte, 
To be releved by him afterward. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Canon's Yeoman's Tale, I. 319. 
That that deth doun brouhte deth shal releue. 
Piers Plmnnan (C), xxi. 145. 
