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Comments on What does Etymonline mean by 'to raise (someone) out of trouble'?

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What does Etymonline mean by 'to raise (someone) out of trouble'?

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I have never heard of "to raise (someone) out of trouble"! What does this mean?

relieve (v.) [on Etymonline]

late 14c., releven, "alleviate (pain, etc.) wholly or partly, mitigate; afford comfort; allow respite; diminish the pressure of," also "give alms to, provide for;" also figuratively, "take heart, cheer up;"
from Old French relever "to raise, relieve" (11c.)
and directly from Latin relevare "to raise, alleviate, lift up, free from a burden,"
from re-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see re-),
+ levare "to lift up, lighten," from levis "not heavy" (from PIE root *legwh- "not heavy, having little weight").

The notion is "to raise (someone) out of trouble." [my emboldening] From c. 1400 as "advance to the rescue in battle, bring help to a besieged place;" also "return from battle; recall (troops)." Meaning "release from duty" is from early 15c. Related: relieved; relieving.

I can surmise merely one meaning — medical professionals lifting or raising a patient. But I have no clue if medical professionals — if they existed in the 14th century — raised patients like in the pictures below!

Top picture. Middle. Bottom

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3 comment threads

I think you are interpreting "raise" much too literally. It doesn't have to mean physically lifting u... (1 comment)
x-post https://www.reddit.com/r/grammar/comments/wtkk7m/what_does_to_raise_someone_out_of_trouble_mea... (1 comment)
x-post https://www.reddit.com/r/englishmajors/comments/wtjq3f/what_does_to_raise_someone_out_of_troub... (1 comment)
I think you are interpreting "raise" much too literally. It doesn't have to mean physically lifting u...
TextKit‭ wrote over 1 year ago

I think you are interpreting "raise" much too literally. It doesn't have to mean physically lifting up, it can be metaphorical. A metaphorical use is like when we raise money (money does not literally go up in the air!) or when we raise someone's mood (a mood is not a physical thing, how would you even move it upwards physically?) or when we raise goats (it means to farm them, not to pick them up!)