Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
REPRIEVE
I. transitive verb (reprieved; reprieving)
Etymology: probably blend of obsolete repreve to reprove (from Middle English) and obsolete repry to remand, postpone, from Anglo-French repri-, past stem of reprendre to take back
Date: 1596
to delay the punishment of (as a condemned prisoner), to give relief or deliverance to for a time,
II. noun
Date: 1592
1. the act of reprieving ; the state of being reprieved, a formal temporary suspension of the execution of a sentence especially of death, an order or warrant for a reprieve, a temporary respite (as from pain or trouble)