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relay

Pronunciation: /ˈɹiːleɪ/

The English word “relay” has 11 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A new set of hounds.
  2. A new set of horses kept along a specific route so that they can replace animals that are tired.
  3. A new set of anything.
  4. A series of vehicles travelling in sequence.
  5. A competition between teams where members of a team take turns completing parts of a course or performing a certain action.
  6. A track and field discipline where runners take turns in carrying a baton from start to finish. The most common events are 4×100 meter and 4×400 meter competitions.
  7. An electrical actuator that allows a relatively small electrical voltage or current to control a larger voltage or current.

verb

  1. To pass on or transfer (information).
  2. To release a new set of hounds.
  3. To place (people or horses) in relays, such that one can take over from another.
  4. To take on a new relay of horses; to change horses.

Etymology

From Middle French relai (“reserve pack of hounds”), from relaier (“to exchange tired animals for fresh”); literally, "to leave behind", from Old French relaier (“to leave behind”), from re- + laier (“to leave”), of uncertain origin.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.