Relieve (r-lv), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Relieved (-lvd); p. pr. & vb. n. Relieving.]
Etymology: [OE. releven, F. relever to raise again, discharge, relieve, fr. L. relevare to lift up, raise, make light, relieve; pref. re- re- + levare to raise, fr. levis light. See Levity, and cf. Relevant, Relief.]
1. To lift up; to raise again, as one who has fallen; to cause to rise. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.
2. To cause to seem to rise; to put in relief; to give prominence or conspicuousness to; to Her tall figure relieved against the blue sky; seemed almost of supernatural height. Sir W. Scott.
3. To raise up something in; to introduce a contrast or variety into; to remove the monotony or sameness of. The poet must . . . sometimes relieve the subject with a moral reflection. Addison.
4. To raise or remove, as anything which depresses, weighs down, or cruches; to render less burdensome or afflicting; to allevate; to- abate; to mitigate; to lessen; as, to relieve pain; to relieve the wants of the poor.
4 more senses
5. To free, wholly or partly, from any burden, trial, evil, distress, or the like; to give ease, comfort, or consolation to; to give aid, help, or succor to; to support, strengthen, or deliver; as, to relieve a besieged town. Now lend assistance and relieve the poor. Dryden.
6. To release from a post, station, or duty; to put another in place of, or to take the place of, in the bearing of any burden, or discharge of any duty. Who hath relieved you Shak.
7. To ease of any imposition, burden, wrong, or oppression, by judicial or legislative interposition, as by the removal of a grievance, by indemnification for losses, or the like; to right.
Syn. -- To alleviate; assuage; succor; assist; aid; help; support; substain; ease; mitigate; lighten; diminish; remove; free; remedy; redress; indemnify.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for relieve; he lists it under alleviate.
Where he writes about it:
Etymologically, to alleviate is to lift a burden toward oneself, and so lighten it for the bearer; to relieve is to lift it back from the bearer, nearly or quite away; to remove is to take it away altogether. — from alleviate
Alleviate is thus less than relieve; relieve, ordinarily, less than remove. — from alleviate
We alleviate, relieve or remove the trouble; we relieve, not alleviate, the sufferer. — from alleviate
We abate a fever; lessen anxiety; moderate passions or desires; lighten burdens; mitigate or alleviate pain; reduce inflammation; soften, assuage, or moderate grief; we lighten or mitigate punishments; we relieve any suffering of body or mind that admits of help, comfort, or remedy. — from alleviate