In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
relieves
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of relieve
Source: Wiktionary
Re*lieve" (r-lv"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Relieved (-lvd"); p. pr. & vb. n. Relieving.] Etym: [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.
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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
27 January 2025
(adjective) capable of being split or cleft or divided in the direction of the grain; “fissile crystals”; “fissile wood”
In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.