Meaning

verb provide physical relief, as from pain

verb free someone temporarily from his or her obligations

verb grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to

originFrom Late Middle English releven, from Old French relever, specifically from the conjugated forms such as (jeo) relieve (“I lift up”), and its source, Latin relevo (“to lift up, lighten, relieve, alleviate”), combined form of re- (“back”) + levo (“to lift”). Doublet of relevate. Compare levant, levity, etc.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0