French

Verb

relever

1. (transitive) to stand up (again); to stand, to right (a vehicle etc.)
2. (transitive) to help (someone) to their feet; to help up
   • Grace à lui, partout présent dans le carnage comme une providence, ceux qui tombaient étaient relevés, transportés dans la salle basse, et pansés. (Victor Hugo, Les Misérables XXIII)

     Thanks to him, ever-present in the carnage like a providence, those who fell were helped up, transported to the lower room, and bandaged.

3. (transitive) to pull up (socks etc.); to lift, raise (skirt etc.)
   • Alors elle se décida, et relevant sa robe, montra une forte jambe de vachère, mal serrée en un bas grossier. (Guy de Maupassant, ‘La Maison Tellier’)

     Then she made a decision, and lifting her dress, showed a strong, farm-girl's leg, in a badly-fitting coarse stocking.

4. (transitive) to put up (hair)
   • Elle avait simplement relevé ses cheveux et passé un peignoir de laine blanche. (Emile Zola, Germinal)

     She'd simply put her hair up and thrown on a white woollen dressing gown.

5. (transitive) to heighten, raise, lift (up); to increase
   • —Mon enfant, où sont les tiennes? dit-il en lui relevant la tête. (Honoré de Balzac, Une Fille d'Ève)

     ‘Where are yours, my child?’ he said, lifting his head.

6. (transitive) to restore, rebuild
7. (transitive) to season (food)
8. (transitive) to take down, note, copy out
9. (transitive) to react to, answer, respond to
10. (intransitive) to ride up (of clothes)
11. (reflexive) to get up again, get to one's feet
12. (transitive) to take up (a challenge)

Derived terms

• relever de

Conjugation

This verb is conjugated mostly like the regular -er verbs (parler and chanter and so on), but the -e- /ə/ of the second-to-last syllable becomes -è- /ɛ/ when the next vowel is a silent or schwa -e-. For example, in the third-person singular present indicative, we have il relève rather than *il releve. Other verbs conjugated this way include lever and mener. Related but distinct conjugations include those of appeler and préférer.

Anagrams

• révéler

Latin

Verb

relever

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of relevō

Old French

Etymology

Latin relevo, corresponding to re- +‎ lever

Verb

relever

1. to lift again; to relift

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-v, *-vs, *-vt are modified to f, s, t. This verb has a stressed present stem reliev distinct from the unstressed stem relev. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.