Dictionary:

relief

  (rĭ-lēf')

1. The easing of a burden or distress, such as pain, anxiety, or oppression.
2. Something that alleviates pain or distress.
3. 1. Public assistance.
   2. Aid in time of danger, especially rescue from siege.
4. 1. Release from a post or duty, as that of sentinel.
   2. One who releases another by taking over a post or duty.
5. A pleasant or amusing change; a diversion.
6. 1. The projection of figures or forms from a flat background, as in sculpture, or the apparent projection of such shapes in a painting or drawing.
   2. A work of art featuring such projection. Also called relievo.
7. Geology. The variations in elevation of an area of the earth's surface.
8. Distinction or prominence due to contrast: “The light brought the white church . . . into relief from the flat ledges” (Willa Cather).
9. Law. Redress awarded by a court.
10. Baseball. The pitching done by a relief pitcher: gave the team two innings of excellent relief.
11. A payment made by the heir of a deceased tenant to a feudal lord for the privilege of succeeding to the tenant's estate.

on relief

1. Receiving public assistance because of need or poverty.

[Middle English, from Old French, from relever, to relieve. See relieve. Senses 6, 7, and 8, French, from Italian rilievo. See bas-relief.]

noun

1. The act or an instance of helping: abetment, aid, assist, assistance, hand, help, succor, support. See help/harm/harmless.
2. Freedom, especially from pain: alleviation, assuagement, ease, mitigation, palliation. See increase/decrease.
3. Assistance, especially money, food, and other necessities, given to the needy or dispossessed: aid, dole, handout, public assistance, welfare. See help/harm/harmless.
4. A person or persons taking over the duties of another: replacement. See substitute.

Definition: remedy, aid; relaxation
Antonyms: damage, hurt, injury, pain

1. the mitigation or removal of pain or distress. n 2. the reduction or elimination of pressure from a specific area under a denture base.

n. 1. the replacement of one unit, commander, or individual by another.

2. inequalities of elevation and the configuration of land features on the surface of the Earth which may be represented on maps or charts by contours, hypsometric tints, shading, or spot elevations.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

The shape of the earth's surface. High relief generally denotes large local differences in the height of the land; low relief indicates little variation in altitude.

Art

(click to enlarge)
Athena mourning, mezzo-relievo from the Acropolis, 5th century BC, in the Acropolis Museum, Athens (credit: Alinari/Art Resource, New York)

(from Italian, rilievare: "to raise") In sculpture, any work in which the figures project from a supporting background, usually a plane surface. Bas-reliefs ("low reliefs"), in which the design projects only slightly, were common on the walls of stone buildings in ancient Egypt, Assyria, and elsewhere in the Middle East. High reliefs, in which the forms project at least half or more of their natural circumference, were first employed by the ancient Greeks. Italian Renaissance sculptors combined high and low relief in strikingly illusionistic compositions, as in Lorenzo Ghiberti's bronze doors in Florence. Baroque sculptors continued these experiments, often on a larger scale (e.g., Alessandro Algardi's Meeting of Attila and Pope Leo, 1646 – 53). The dramatic possibilities of the Renaissance concept of relief were later notably employed by François Rude (The Marseillaise, 1833 – 36) and Auguste Rodin (The Gates of Hell).

Business and Economics

For more information on relief, visit Britannica.com.

Sculptured work, carving, casting, or embossing that is raised above the plane of its background. Also called relievo; see bas-relief, demi-relief, high relief, mezzo-relievo, sunk relief.

relief

Financial assistance provided to the indigent by the government. The redress, or benefit, given by a court to an individual who brings a legal action.

The relief sought in a lawsuit might, for example, be the return of property wrongfully taken by another, compensation for an injury in the form of damages, or enforcement of a contract.

(DOD, NATO) Inequalities of evaluation and the configuration of land features on the surface of the Earth which may be represented on maps or charts by contours, hypsometric tints, shading, or spot elevations.

For other uses, see Relief (disambiguation).

Centaur from the pediment of Parthenon

A relief is a sculptured artwork where a modeled form projects out from a flat background.

Reliefs are a common type of artwork found throughout the world, particularly to decorate monumental buildings, such as temples. The frieze in the classical Corinthian order is often enriched with bas-relief (low relief). Alto-relievo (high-relief) may been seen in the pediments of classical temples, e.g. the Parthenon. Reliefs can be used for a single scene, or ordered into a narrative. They can be very detailed to the extent that even tensed musculature itself may be seen.

Types of relief

Roman Hetaera, Relief, around 2nd century, Head is missing

Several types of relief are commonly used and defined although in all cases the images must attach to the background.

• Bas-relief (pronounced "bah"), or low relief, with the background compressed for depth; as seen for example in numismatics. Although unusual, Bas-relief may show faces and even bodies in natural relief.
• Alto-relievo, or high relief, where the image is highly undercut and rendered almost in the round against its flat background. In alto-relief the figures are usually near natural depth and the background is more detailed and deeper.
• Sunken-relief, also known as intaglio or hollow-relief, where the image is carved into the stone, creating in effect a negative, in contrast to other types of relief work where the surrounding stone is carved away to leave the image

Famous reliefs

Hindu temple naga at Hampi

Famous examples of reliefs include:

• Great Altar of Pergamon, now at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin
• Lions and dragons from the Ishtar Gate, Babylon
• Temple of Karnak in Egypt
• Angkor Wat in Cambodia
• Lion Capital of Asoka, the national symbol of India
• glyphs and artwork of the Maya civilization
• The monument to the Confederacy at Stone Mountain, Georgia
• Borobudur temple, Java, Indonesia
• The Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon now housed at the British Museum.
• The representation of Monticello on a US nickel.

Greek couple in high relief "GuruWnd"> "3D red_cyan glasses recommended for your viewing pleasure" />	Palmyra Figure in British Museum "GuruWnd"> "3D red_cyan glasses recommended for your viewing pleasure" />	Persian relief from Qajar era in the style of Persepolis, located at Tangeh Savashi.	Angels from Clonfert Cathedral, Co Galway, Ireland (adjusted to highlight relief)
Yaxchilan Lintel 24, a Mayan carving depicting a blood sacrifice	Chinese lady musicians from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907-960 AD)

See also

• Alto-relievo
• Bas-relief

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Relief

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - lettelse, afhjælpning, aflastning, hjælp, relief

idioms:

• relief map    reliefkort, højdekort
• relief work    hjælpearbejde

Nederlands (Dutch)
opluchting, verlichting, verademing, steun, aflossing, extra (hulp-), reliëf, bijstand, helderheid van contrast, versterking (militair), herstel van grieven, opluchting etc. verschaffend, gekenmerkt door reliëf

Français (French)
n. - soulagement, rafraîchissement, allégement, secours, (US) aides sociales, divertissement, (Mil) délivrance, (Art, Géog) relief, relève, (Jur) réparation

idioms:

• relief map    carte en relief
• relief work    travail humanitaire

Deutsch (German)
n. - Hilfe, Abwechslung, Ablösung, Verstärkung, Erleichterung, Relief

idioms:

• relief map    Reliefkarte
• relief work    Rettungsarbeiten

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ανακούφιση, εκτόνωση, ξελάφρωμα, αρωγή, βοήθεια, περίθαλψη, ποικιλία, αντικατάσταση, αλλαγή, προβολή, ανάγλυφο, (στρατ.) ενίσχυση, αντικατάσταση (φρουράς), αντικαταστάτης, (μτφ.) τονισμός, έξαρση

idioms:

• relief map    (γεωγρ.) ανάγλυφος χάρτης
• relief work    ανάγλυφο

Italiano (Italian)
rilievo, appoggio, sollievo, sostituto, ristoro, sussidio

idioms:

• relief map    carta orografica
• relief work    lavori di sostentamento

Português (Portuguese)
n. - alívio (m), rendição (f), relevo (m)

idioms:

• relief map    mapa em relevo
• relief work    trabalho social

Русский (Russian)
облегчение, освобождение, пособие, смена, рельеф

idioms:

• relief map    рельефная карта
• relief work    благотворительная деятельность

Español (Spanish)
n. - auxilio, ayuda, alivio, desahogo, relevo, sustituto, relieve, refresco, subsidio de desempleo

idioms:

• relief map    mapa en relieve
• relief work    obras de socorro o de emergencia (para reducir el desempleo)

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - lättnad, avdrag, relief

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
减轻, 安慰, 救济

idioms:

• relief map    立体模型地图, 有等高线的地图
• relief work    救济事业, 失业救济工作

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 減輕, 安慰, 救濟

idioms:

• relief map    立體模型地圖, 有等高線的地圖
• relief work    救濟事業, 失業救濟工作

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 안심, 경감, 구원, 기분전환

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 除去, 起伏, 気分転換になるもの, 救助, 救援, きわだつこと, 強調, 相続上納金, 任務からの解放, 緩和, 救出, 浮き彫り
adj. - レリーフのある, 表面が平らでない

idioms:

• relief map    起伏量図
• relief work    失業対策の公共施設

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) إغاثه, فرج, راحه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮הקלה, הרגעה, שחרור, סעד, עזרה, מחליף, ממלא מקום, הנחה, גיוון, תבליט, בהירות, ייחודיות, תגבור‬

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