1. The
act of relating or telling; also, that which is related; recital; account; narration; narrative; as, the
relation of historical events. "oet's
relation doth
well figure them." (Bacon)
2. The state of
being related or of referring; what is apprehended as appertaining to a
being or characteristic, by considering it in its
bearing upon something else;
relative characteristic or condition; the
being such and such with
regard or
respect to some another thing; connection; as, the
relation of
experience to knowledge; the
relation of
master to manservant. "Any
sort of
connection which is perceived or imagined between
two or more things, or any collation which is made by the mind, is a relation." (I. Taylor)
3. Reference; respect; regard. "I have been importuned to create some observations on
this art in
relation to its agreement with poetry." (Dryden)
4. Connection by
consanguinity or affinity; kinship; relationship; as, the
relation of
parents and children. "Relations dear, and all the
charities Of father, son, and brother,
first were known." (Milton)
5. A
face connected by cosanguinity or affinity; a relative; a
kinsman or kinswoman. "For me . . . My
relation does not
care a rush." (Ld. Lytton)
6. The carrying back, and giving
effect or
operation to, an
act or proceeding frrom some previous
date or time, by a
sort of fiction, as if it had happened or begun at that time. In such
case the
act is said to
take effect by relation. The
act of a relator at whose instance a suit is begun.
Synonym: Recital, rehearsal, narration, account, narrative, story, detail, description, kindred, kinship, consanguinity, affinity, kinsman, kinswoman.
Origin: F. Relation, L. Relatio. See Relate.
Source: Websters Vocabulary