Relieving

How to spell relieving

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce relieving

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does relieving mean?

1. verbEasing or lessening pain, distress, pressure, or a burden.
2. verbTaking over a duty from someone so that they can rest or leave.

Relieving in a sentence

• The new painkiller is slowly relieving her headache.

• The night nurse arrived, relieving the staff who had worked all day.

• Hiring extra staff is relieving the pressure on the support team.

• The sergeant was relieving the guard at the gate every four hours.

Where does relieving come from?

Language of origin: French

This is the present participle of the verb 'relieve', which English took from the Old French relever, meaning 'to raise up' or 'to lighten a burden'. That French verb descends from the Latin relevare, built from the prefix re- (an intensifier here) and the verb levare, meaning 'to lift' or 'to make light', itself from levis, 'light in weight'. The literal idea of physically lifting a load softened into the figurative sense of easing pain, worry, or pressure, which is the dominant meaning today. English adopted it in the 1300s, and the same levare root survives in everyday relatives such as 'lever', 'elevate', and 'levity'. The spelling keeps the French-derived 'ie' sequence after the 'l', a stretch that obeys the familiar 'i before e' habit and is the main thing writers must hold steady.

How the word is built

• re- (intensive/again)
• liev- (from Latin levare, to lift or lighten)
• -ing (present participle suffix)