Relief

Relief, rē-lēf′, n. the removal of any evil: release from a post or duty, replacement: one who replaces another: that which relieves or mitigates: aid: assistance to a pauper, as outdoor relief: a certain fine or composition paid by the heir of a tenant at the death of the ancestor: (fine art) the projection of a sculptured design from its ground, as low relief (bas-relief, basso-rilievo), middle relief (mezzo-rilievo), and high relief (alto-rilievo), according as the carved figures project very little, in a moderate degree, or in a very considerable degree from the background: a work of art executed in relief: (her.) the supposed projection of a charge from the surface of a field, indicated by shading on the sinister and lower sides: the condition of land surfaces as regards elevations and depressions—as indicated in a Relief′-map, in which the form of the country is expressed by elevations and depressions of the material used.—ns. Relief′-perspec′tive, the art of applying the principles of perspective to relief in painting and sculpture, in theatrical settings, &c.; Relief′-work, public work to provide employment for the poor in times of distress.—Relief Church, a body who left the Established Church of Scotland on account of the oppressive exercise of patronage, organised in 1761, uniting with the United Secession Church in 1847 to form the United Presbyterian Church. [O. Fr. relef—relever, to raise up—L. re-, again, levāre, to raise.]