[bah-ri-leef, bas-; bah-ri-leef, bas-] 
| relief sculpture in which the figures project slightly from the background. |
| bas-re·lief (bä'rĭ-lēf') n. See low relief. [French, from Italian bassorilievo : basso, low (from Medieval Latin bassus) + rilievo, relief (from rilevare, to raise, from Latin relevāre; see relieve).] |
| low relief n. Sculptural relief that projects very little from the background. Also called bas-relief, basso-relievo. |
A kind of carving or sculpture in which the figures are raised a few inches from a flat background to give a three-dimensional effect. The term is French for “low relief.”
rɪˈlif