Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

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

+1
−3

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

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

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)

1 answer

+1
−0

You are right, "raise (someone) out of trouble" is not a common English idiom. It is used to connect the English meaning (denotation and connotations) to the original Latin and/or Old French meanings (denotation and connotation).

The bolded phrase is an explanation of a notion operating in Latin, in Old French, and likely to be discernible to many speakers of Middle English, too. The notion is generally obscured or absent in Modern English "relieve".

Nevertheless, let me elaborate on what Etymonline means by "raise (someone) out of trouble" in that particular context.

When a person is "in trouble", they are not literally surrounded by trouble, they are only figuratively "in" the trouble. Equally figuratively they could be "raised", or equally figuratively "removed" (moved) to some less troublesome circumstances by a powerful force or authority that is capable to change that person's circumstances enough so that they are no longer "in trouble". See the Etymonline text following your bolded sentence for some attested examples where the troublesome circumstances are a mediaeval battle.

I don't know how the presumed spatial metaphor is supposed to apply in Modern English, but it's perhaps irrelevant if you can appreciate the explanation which Etymonline gives for Latin - namely, that a heavy burden is taken off the person, making them lighter/lifted up/escape the burden upwards).

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

0 comment threads

Sign up to answer this question »