benediction
noun
Gertrude DiamantTime
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In benediction, the bene root is joined by another Latin root, dictio, "speaking", so the word's meaning becomes something like "well-wishing". Perhaps the best-known benediction is the so-called Aaronic Benediction from the Bible, which begins, "May the Lord bless you and keep you". An important section of the Catholic Mass was traditionally known as the Benedictus, after its first word (meaning "blessed"). It was St. Benedict who organized the first Christian monasteries; many Christians have been baptized Benedict in his honor, and 16 popes have taken it as their papal name.
Examples of benediction in a Sentence
TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
The closing of a letter suits the liminal space of the benediction.
—Julia Cho, The New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2024
But in the midst of this winter of our discontent, her latest piece, the ravishing Terce: A Practical Breviary, now playing at the Space at Irondale in Park Slope, feels almost like a benediction.
—Adam Green, Vogue, 22 Jan. 2024
In 1791, France became the first European country to fully emancipate its Jewish population, and for more than two hundred years French rabbis have spoken a special Sabbath benediction.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2024
Early on, his effort to bring the past into the present receives a majestic combination of a caveat and a benediction from the poet and scholar Sterling A. Brown, then around eighty.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2024
As the sun rose over Florida just beyond them, a man with a tattoo on his arm of a hand making the sign of the benediction began recording a video on his phone.
—Seth Freed Wessler, ProPublica, 7 Dec. 2023
The ceremony will include an invocation and benediction from Liturgical Deacon Charles E. Barnhart, Jr., as well as a wreath laying.
—Staff, Baltimore Sun, 8 Sep. 2023
Advertisement On Wednesday, Herman Fillmore of the Washoe Tribe offered a benediction celebrating land his people value so much, as three paddle boards languidly floated behind him, three people in kayaks passed by and three jet skis zoomed along in the distance.
—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'benediction.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near benediction
Cite this Entry
“Benediction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/benediction. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
benediction
noun
Middle English benediccioun "an expression of blessing or good wishes," from Latin benediction-, benedictio (same meaning), from benedicere "to bless," from earlier bene dicere "to praise, speak well," from bene "well" and dicere "to say" — related to dictate
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