reprieve
verb [usually passive]- reprieve somebody
to officially cancel or delay a punishment for a prisoner who is condemned to death 撤销…的死刑;缓期执行…的死刑 a reprieved murderer 被判死刑而缓期执行的杀人犯
- reprieve something
to officially cancel or delay plans to close something or end something 取消关闭;暂缓终止 70 jobs have been reprieved until next April. 有 70 个职位暂时保留到明年四月份。
Word Originlate 15th cent. (as the past participle repryed): from Anglo-Norman French repris, past participle of reprendre, from Latin re- ‘back’ + prehendere ‘seize’. The insertion of -v- (16th cent.) remains unexplained. Sense development has undergone a reversal, from the early meaning ‘send back to prison’, via ‘postpone a legal process’, to the current sense ‘rescue from impending punishment’.