Alleviation
/ˌæliːviˈeɪʃən/noun
The act of making pain, suffering, or a problem less severe.
Did you know?Alleviation comes from Latin levis, meaning “light,” so the word’s deepest idea is not destruction of pain, but making a burden lighter.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*legwh-
“light in weight”
Latin
Latin
levis
“light, not heavy”
Latin
Latin
alleviare
“to make lighter, relieve”
Old French
OF
allevier
“to lighten, relieve”
Middle English
English
alleviacioun
“relief from burden or pain”
Modern English
English
alleviation
“the act of making something less severe”