benediction

bene·dic·tion

noun \ˌbe-nə-ˈdik-shən\

Definition of BENEDICTION

1

: the invocation of a blessing; especially : the short blessing with which public worship is concluded

2

: something that promotes goodness or well-being

3

often capitalized : a Roman Catholic or Anglo-Catholic devotion including the exposition of the eucharistic Host in the monstrance and the blessing of the people with it

4

: an expression of good wishes

Examples of BENEDICTION

1. He dismissed the congregation with a benediction.
2. <the priest offered a benediction for the missing children>

Origin of BENEDICTION

Middle English benediccioun, from Late Latin benediction-, benedictio, from benedicere to bless, from Latin, to speak well of, from bene well (akin to Latin bonus good) + dicere to say — more at bounty, diction

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to BENEDICTION

Synonyms

blessing, benison

Antonyms

anathema, curse, execration, imprecation, malediction

Related Words

Godspeed; appeal, entreaty, grace, intercession, invocation, orison, petition, plea, prayer, supplication; sanctification

Near Antonyms

hex, hoodoo, jinx; bother, irritant, nuisance, pest; disadvantage; cross, misery, trial, tribulation

Other Christian Religious Terms

Pentateuch, blasphemy, curate, doxology, eremite, iconoclasm, liturgy, orison, pneuma, reliquary

Rhymes with BENEDICTION

contradiction, crucifixion, dereliction, interdiction, jurisdiction, malediction, metafiction, science fiction, valediction