relief

relief
   1. public aid given to the indigent
   Originally, a feudal payment to an overlord on coming into an estate:
    The parish granted no relief and even if it had done so it is very doubtful whether the strikers or their wives would have accepted it. (F. Richards, 1936)
   2. urination
   You usually need or obtain it:
    Archie had needed immediate relief in the bathroom. (Davidson, 1978)
   Whence the American relief-station, a lavatory.
   3. sexual activity
   As with release4, from a supposed relieving of sexual tension. It is used of copulation or masturbation:
    ... the Euphoric Spring had heated your blood to the extent that you're prepared to fly me six thousand miles to obtain relief. (Lodge, 1975)
    He played blue movies in his head featuring himself and Robyn Penrose, and crept guiltily to the en suite bathroom to seek a schoolboy's relief. (Lodge, 1988)

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • relief — [ rəljɛf ] n. m. • 1050; de relever « enlever, relever », d apr. l a. forme tonique je relief I ♦ Vx Ce qu on enlève d une table servie. Mod., au plur. ⇒ reste. Les reliefs de la table. « des reliefs d ortolans » (La Fontaine). ♢ Fig. Les reliefs …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • relief — re‧lief [rɪˈliːf] noun 1. [uncountable] when a bad situation is reduced or stops for a time: • Any sign of relief from price pressures will be welcome news for the economy. 2. money, food, clothes etc given to people who are poor or hungry: • a… …   Financial and business terms

  • relief — re·lief n: redress, assistance, or protection given by law esp. from a court should state what relief the plaintiff seeks: as a: release from obligation or duty relief from judgment b: an order from a court granting a particular remedy (as return …   Law dictionary

  • relief — RELIÉF, reliefuri, s.n. 1. Configuraţie a suprafeţei terestre constituită din totalitatea neregularităţilor de forme pozitive sau negative considerate faţă de un plan de referinţă general sau local. 2. Ridicătură, proeminenţă pe o suprafaţă. ♢… …   Dicționar Român

  • relief — Relief. s. m. Bosse eminente en ouvrage de Poterie, de fonte ou de Sculpture. Relief entier ou haut relief, qui est de l épaisseur de toute la figure, demi relief, qui est moins que la moitié des images de relief entier. Ouvrage à demi relief, à… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • relief — Relief, m. acut. Descend du verbe Relever, composé de Re, qui signifie Derechef, et lever, car il se dit d une chose chute, de sorte que Relever est remettre en son estant une chose qui en est deschute. Et se prend Relief ores pour le benefice du …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • Relief — Re*lief (r? l?f ), n. [OE. relef, F. relief, properly, a lifting up, a standing out. See {Relieve}, and cf. {Basrelief}, {Rilievi}.] 1. The act of relieving, or the state of being relieved; the removal, or partial removal, of any evil, or of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • relief — ► NOUN 1) a feeling of reassurance and relaxation following release from anxiety or distress. 2) a cause of relief. 3) the action of relieving. 4) (usu. light relief) a temporary break in a generally tense or boring situation. 5) financial or… …   English terms dictionary

  • Relief — Sn Abbildung mit erhabener bzw. vertiefter Oberfläche per. Wortschatz fach. (18. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus frz. relief m., eigentlich Hervorheben , zu frz. relever hochheben, aufheben , dieses aus l. relevāre, zu l. levāre heben, wegheben,… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • relief — [ri lēf′] n. [ME releef < OFr relief < relever: see RELIEVE] 1. a) an easing, as of pain, discomfort, or anxiety b) a lightening of a burden, as of taxation, oppression, etc. 2. anything that lessens tension or strain, or offers a pleasing… …   English World dictionary

  • Relief — (franz., spr. rölheff, ital. riliēvo), erhabene Arbeit, diejenige Gattung der Bildnerei, welche die Figuren aus einer Ebene oder vertieften Fläche, dem Grunde, erhaben heraustreten läßt. Das R. bildet eine Mittelgattung zwischen der eigentlichen… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

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