Taking away pain, worry, or burden from someone; or replacing someone at their job or post.
From Old French 'relever' (to lift up again), combining Latin 're-' (again) and 'levare' (to lift or lighten). The word evolved to mean 'to ease' or 'to replace.'
The original meaning was literally 'to lift again'—so 'relieving' someone's pain means lifting that burden off them, and 'relieving' a soldier means lifting them off duty. It's beautifully consistent across its different meanings.
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