reprieve
a temporary relief
TRANSLATION
reprieve = begnadigen, entlasten, befreien reprieve = die Begnadigung, die Gnadenfrist, die Entlastung, die Befreiung --- GOOGLE INDEX reprieve: approximately 2,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
After waking up to what he thought was the last day of his life, Broom, who was convicted of murder in 1984, won an unexpected REPRIEVE when the execution team couldn't find a suitable vein for the IV line.
(news.com.au)
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BP wins REPRIEVE over Gulf of Mexico payouts
(BBC News)
(news.com.au)
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BP wins REPRIEVE over Gulf of Mexico payouts
(BBC News)
Did you
know?
reprieve
verb
- to bring relief to
- to postpone or cancel the punishment of
reprieve
noun
- temporary relief
- postponement or cancellation of a punishment
(American Heritage Dictionary)
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Reprieve is from the mid 16th century and derives from the Middle English "repryen" (to remand or detain) and likely via the Middle French "repris," the past participle of "reprendre (take back), which is related to the English reprise, an action that repeats.
Reprieve (initially written "reprive") originally meant "to take back to prison." While this may sound odd, this sense evolved because being sent back to prison was the alternative to being executed.
This usage is still common, especially in the US where some states have the death penalty. A reprieve, sometimes referred to as a "stay of execution," generally can be granted only by governors. In some cases, the state’s Supreme Court may stop an execution from being carried out.
A reprieve is usually temporary and should not be confused with a "pardon," which is "an order that releases a convicted criminal without further punishment, prevents future punishment or (in some jurisdictions) removes an offence from a person's criminal record, as if it had never been committed."
Apart from the sense of postponing or cancelling a punishment, reprieve can be used to describe relief from any difficult situation (The residents were given a reprieve when the storm moved further south. Consumers got a reprieve when petrol prices dropped an average of 5 cents per gallon.)
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SYNONYMS
verb
absolve, alleviate, allay, forgive, mitigate, palliate, postpone, stay, relieve, exempt, free, release, suspend
noun
clemency, absolution, amnesty, suspension, respite, mitigation, palliation, release
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Many parts of England are still waiting for a reprieve from the flooding."
verb
- to bring relief to
- to postpone or cancel the punishment of
reprieve
noun
- temporary relief
- postponement or cancellation of a punishment
(American Heritage Dictionary)
---
Reprieve is from the mid 16th century and derives from the Middle English "repryen" (to remand or detain) and likely via the Middle French "repris," the past participle of "reprendre (take back), which is related to the English reprise, an action that repeats.
Reprieve (initially written "reprive") originally meant "to take back to prison." While this may sound odd, this sense evolved because being sent back to prison was the alternative to being executed.
This usage is still common, especially in the US where some states have the death penalty. A reprieve, sometimes referred to as a "stay of execution," generally can be granted only by governors. In some cases, the state’s Supreme Court may stop an execution from being carried out.
A reprieve is usually temporary and should not be confused with a "pardon," which is "an order that releases a convicted criminal without further punishment, prevents future punishment or (in some jurisdictions) removes an offence from a person's criminal record, as if it had never been committed."
Apart from the sense of postponing or cancelling a punishment, reprieve can be used to describe relief from any difficult situation (The residents were given a reprieve when the storm moved further south. Consumers got a reprieve when petrol prices dropped an average of 5 cents per gallon.)
---
SYNONYMS
verb
absolve, alleviate, allay, forgive, mitigate, palliate, postpone, stay, relieve, exempt, free, release, suspend
noun
clemency, absolution, amnesty, suspension, respite, mitigation, palliation, release
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Many parts of England are still waiting for a reprieve from the flooding."
