relay1

 
Pronunciation: /ˈriːleɪ/

noun

  • 1a group of people or animals engaged in a task or activity for a period of time and then replaced by a similar group: the wagons were pulled by relays of horses gangs of workers were sent in relays
  • [usually as modifier] a race between teams of runners, each team member in turn covering part of the total distance: a 550-metre relay race
  • 2an electrical device, typically incorporating an electromagnet, which is activated by a current or signal in one circuit to open or close another circuit.
  • 3a device to receive, reinforce, and retransmit a radio or television signal: [as modifier]: TV transmitters and relay stations
  • a signal or broadcast transmitted by a relay: a relay of a performance live from the concert hall

verb

Pronunciation: /also rɪˈleɪ/
[with object]
  • receive and pass on (information or a message): she intended to relay everything she had learned
  • broadcast (something) by passing signals received from elsewhere through a transmitting station: the speech was relayed live from the palace

Origin:

late Middle English (referring to the provision of fresh hounds on the track of a deer): from Old French relai (noun), relayer (verb), based on Latin laxare 'slacken'