relevailles
French
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From French se relever (“to stand back up”) + -aille.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]relevailles f pl (plural only)
- (dated, plural only) the churching of a woman; a ceremony at church to bless a woman who has recently given birth
- 2018, Daniel Barthes, “ La genèse des imaginaires ”, in Les nombres complexes, Bibliothèque Tangente, page 8:
- À peine la messe de relevailles dite, Chiara apprend que ses trois enfants, nés d’un premier lit, sont morts de la peste à Milan et qu’elle doit se séparer de Girolamo, dont le père se juge seul capable de dispenser la première éducation.
- The churching mass had barely been said when Chiara learned that the three children of her first marriage had died of the plague in Milan, and that she had to separate from Girolamo, whose father considered himself able of raising the child alone.
- (dated, plural only) a woman's first time standing back up, or more generally, her period of recovery, after having given birth
- 1974, Marguerite Yourcenar, Souvenirs pieux, Collection Folio, page 129:
- Les relevailles d’un dame signifient à l’époque six semaines de chaise longue (les paysannes seules retournent au travail au bout de quelques jours, ce qui prouve la rudesse de ces femmes du peuple) […]
- At the time, a lady's recovery after giving birth meant six weeks on a chaise longue (only peasant women returned to work after a few days, which proved how coarse these women of the people were) [...]
- (plural only) assistance provided to the parents of a newborn baby
- 2025 February 6 (last accessed), Espace-Famille Villeray, Relevailles[1]:
- Notre service de relevailles existe pour tous les parents de Villeray qui viennent d’accueillir un nouveau-né. Le service est disponible pendant 12 semaines pour les familles avec un enfant entre 0 et 12 mois.
- Our support service for new parents is for all parents in Villeray who have just welcomed a newborn. The service is available for 12 weeks to families with a child between 0 and 12 months old.