relay

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
relay1 /ˈriːleɪ/

▶noun

• 1 a group of people or animals engaged in a task for a period of time and then replaced by a similar group.

  ■ a race between teams of runners, each team member in turn covering part of the total distance.

• 2 an electrical device which is activated by a current in one circuit to open or close another circuit.

• 3 a device to receive, reinforce, and retransmit a signal.

  ■ a message, programme, etc. transmitted by such a device.

▶verb also /rɪˈleɪ/ 

• 1 receive and pass on (information).

• 2 broadcast by a relay.

– origin ME: from OFr. relai (n.), relayer (v.), based on L. laxare ‘slacken’.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
relay2 /riːˈleɪ/

▶verb (past and past part. relaid) lay again or differently.