Reprieves

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A temporary release from a burden or punishment allows one to experience a period of relief or postponement from immediate consequences
2. The act of delaying or suspending a punishment grants an individual a momentary escape from distressing circumstances
3. A temporary suspension of a penalty or hardship provides an individual with a chance for relief or a break from their current troubles

Etymology: "Reprieves" is simply the plural of "reprieve", so its story is the story of that noun. The verb first appears around 1513 in the writings of the chronicler Robert Fabyan, but its earliest ancestor is Middle English "repryen", meaning "to remand" or "to detain", recorded in 1494. That verb in turn is probably from Middle French "repris", the past participle of "reprendre", meaning "to take back". Its sense of taking someone back to prison is the original literal core. The noun arrived around 1592, and it kept that heritage: a reprieve was first and foremost a suspension of a sentence, most often a death sentence. The meaning has since broadened to any temporary relief from something unpleasant, but the connotation of punishment and execution still lingers. The English word is a cousin of "reprise", which comes from the same French root.

Synonyms: respite, pardon, exemption, delay, suspension

Antonyms: punishment, consequence, retribution, penalty, sentence