Lewis & Short

rĕ-lĕvo, āvi, ātum, 1, v. a.

  1. I. To lift up, raise (very rare, and almost exclusively poet.; syn.: reficio, recreo, mitigo).
    1. A. Lit.: e terra corpus, Ov. M. 9, 318: umeros, id. F. 4, 169: in cubitum membra, id. P. 3, 3, 11.
    2. B. Trop.: nec sic mea fata premuntur, Ut nequeam relevare caput, Luc. 3, 268 Corte; so, caput, Plin. Ep. 1, 24, 4: si forte relevet manum suam a nobis, Vulg. 1 Reg. 6, 5: eos qui oppressi fuerant relevans, id. Job, 12, 21.
  2. II. Transf., to make light, to lighten (class.).
    1. A. Lit.: epistulam graviorem pellectione, Cic. Att. 1, 13, 1: vimina curva favi (i. e. exonerare), Cv. R. Am. 186.
      Poet.: sic unquam longā relevere catenā, Ov. Am. 1, 6, 25: minimo ut relevere labore Utque marem parias, i. e. may be delivered, id. M. 9, 675.
    2. B. Trop., to relieve, free from any evil; or, to alleviate, mitigate, lessen, diminish, assuage, abate the evil itself; to ease, comfort, refresh, console: videbimur … curā et metu esse relevati, periculum autem residebit … Ut saepe homines aegri morbo gravi … si aquam gelidam biberint, primo relevari videntur … sic hic morbus, qui est in re publicā, relevatus istius poenā, vehementius vivis reliquis ingravescet, Cic. Cat. 1, 13, 31; cf.: animum molestiis, id. ib. 2, 4, 7 (with recreata): aegrum, Ov. P. 1, 3, 17: pectora sicca mero, id. F. 3, 304: membra sedili, id. M. 8, 639: mens a cura relevata est, id. Tr. 1, 11, 12; cf.: publicanos tertiā mercedum parte, Suet. Caes. 20: ut me relevares, might comfort, console me, Cic. Att. 3, 10, 3: nam et illic animum jam relevaris, quae dolore ac miseria Tabescit, Ter. Ad. 4, 3, 11: quia (pupilla) videtur in ceteris litis speciebus relevata fuisse, i. e. to have been restored, Dig. 4, 4, 29.
      With things as objects: ut cibi satietas et fastidium aut subamara aliquā re relevatur aut dulci mitigatur, Cic. Inv. 1, 17, 25: ad relevandos castrenses sumptus, Suet. Dom. 12: communem casum misericordiā hominum, Cic. Q. Fr. 1, 4, 4; cf.: casus, Ov. Tr. 5, 3, 43: luctus, id. R. Am. 586: studium omnium laboremque, Plin. Pan. 19, 3: requie laborem, Ov. M. 15, 16: aestus, id. ib. 7, 815; id. A. A. 3, 697; cf. sitim, id. M. 6, 354: famem, id. ib. 11, 129.