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benediction

American  
[ben-i-dik-shuhn] / ˌbɛn ɪˈdɪk ʃən /

noun

  1. an utterance of good wishes.

  2. the form of blessing pronounced by an officiating minister, as at the close of divine service.

  3. a ceremony by which things are set aside for sacred uses, as a church, vestments, or bells.

  4. Also called Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.  (usually initial capital letter) a service consisting of prayers, at least one prescribed hymn, censing of the congregation and the Host, and a blessing of the congregation by moving in the form of a cross the ciborium or monstrance containing the Host.

  5. the advantage conferred by blessing; a mercy or benefit.

benediction British  
/ ˌbɛnɪˈdɪkʃən /

noun

  1. an invocation of divine blessing, esp at the end of a Christian religious ceremony

  2. a Roman Catholic service in which the congregation is blessed with the sacrament

  3. the state of being blessed

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • benedictory adjective
  • prebenediction noun

Etymology

Origin of benediction

1400–50; late Middle English (< Middle French ) < Latin benedictiōn- (stem of benedictiō ). See Benedictus, -ion

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.