Main Entry:

¹re·lay

Pronunciation:

\ˈrē-ˌlā\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English, set of fresh hounds, from relayen

Date:

1651

1 a: a supply (as of horses) arranged beforehand for successive relief b: a number of persons who relieve others in some work <worked in relays around the clock>2 a: a race between teams in which each team member successively covers a specified portion of the course b: one of the divisions of a relay3: an electromagnetic device for remote or automatic control that is actuated by variation in conditions of an electric circuit and that operates in turn other devices (as switches) in the same or a different circuit4: servomotor5: the act of passing along (as a message or ball) by stages ; also : one of such stages