benediction
/ˌbɛnəˈdɪkʃən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.49 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A short invocation for help, blessing and guidance from God, said on behalf of another person or persons (sometimes at the end of a church worship service).
Countable; Uncountable
noun
In the Anglican church, the ceremony used to institute an abbot, analogous to the consecration of a bishop.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "to pronounce / give / say the benediction"
- "the nuptial benediction"
- "a parting benediction"
- "O, look upon me, sir, And hold your hands in benediction o’er me."
- "So saying, he [the angel] arose; whom Adam thus Follow’d with benediction."
- "My pen (its last scrawl a benediction on my beloved) dropt from my fingers;"
Etymology
From Middle English benediccion, from Ecclesiastical Latin benedictio, benedictionis, from benedictus (“blessed; well spoken of”). Doublet of benison.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: benediccion, benedictio