Word of the Day

Monday, December 01, 2008

valediction

\val-uh-DIK-shuhn\ , noun;

the action of bidding farewell; a farewell

Quotes:

The playing of taps was a special moment in the ceremony, a final, haunting valediction for the men who had made the supreme sacrifice.

-- John Glenn, John Glenn: A Memoir

Few careers have such self-appointed endings, and his speech was a fine valediction.

-- Howard's dignified end, Daily Telegraph, 10/7/2005

At the end, they sobbed farewell to an old friend who gives a beautiful valediction.

-- Richard Corliss, Martial Masterpiece, Time Asia, 7/10/2000

Origin:

by 1614, from Latin valedicere "bid farewell," from vale, imperative form of valere "be well" + dicere "to say"