valedictory

English

WOTD – 10 July 2021

Etymology

From Latin valedictum + English -ory (suffix forming nouns meaning ‘that which pertains to’, or adjectives meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). Valedictum is the accusative supine of valedīcō (“to bid farewell; to give a valediction”), from valē (“farewell, goodbye”) (the imperative of valeō (“to be healthy or well; to be strong; to have influence or power”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“powerful, strong; to rule”)) + dīcō (“to say, speak”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to point out”)). By surface analysis, valedict +‎ -ory.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌvælɪˈdɪktəɹi/, /ˌvælɪˈdɪktɹi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌvæləˈdɪktəɹi/, /ˌvæləˈdɪktɹi/
• Hyphenation: va‧le‧dict‧o‧ry

Adjective

valedictory (not comparable)

1. Of or pertaining to a valediction (“an act of parting company; a speech made when parting company”); designed for or suitable to an occasion of bidding farewell or parting company.

   Synonym: (formal, rare) apopemptic

   a valedictory oration

   • 1694 January 21 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 11 January 1694]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC, part I, page 39:

     Supp'd at Mr. Edw^d Sheldon's, where was Mr. [John] Dryden the Poet, who now intended to write no more Plays, being intent on his Translation of Virgil. He read to us his Prologue and Epilogue to his valedictory Play, now shortly to be acted.

   • 1864 May – 1865 November, Charles Dickens, “Two New Servants”, in Our Mutual Friend. […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1865, →OCLC, 1st book (The Cup and the Lip), page 143:

     While delivering these valedictory observations, Wegg continually disappointed Mr. Boffin of his hand by flourishing it in the air.

   • 1961 December, “Motive Power Miscellany: Eastern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 760:

     It was illustrated on page 617 of our October issue and the class as a whole was the subject of a valedictory article in our August, 1959 issue.

   • 2015, Neal Stephenson, Seveneves, London: The Borough Press, HarperCollins, published 2016, →ISBN, page 93:

     When Fyodor had come up to Izzy six months ago, it had been understood as a valedictory mission before getting shunted to an administrator's job at Roskosmos.

   • 2019 May 8, Barney Ronay, “Liverpool’s waves of red fury and recklessness end in joyous bedlam”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 March 2021:

     Barcelona have had a habit of collapsing like a poorly constructed millefeuille in away legs over the past four years. But still, as Jordan Henderson hurled himself about in midfield like a labrador puppy chasing flies, as [Sadio] Mané pressed with sniping menace on the left, there was something valedictory in the air.

2. (Canada, US) Of or pertaining to a valedictorian (“the individual in a graduating class who delivers the farewell address, often the person who graduates with the highest grades”).
   • 2016 June 17, Octavio Blanco, “Undocumented students and the controversial path to affording college”, in CNN Business‎^[2]:

     The first was Larissa Martinez, who divulged her undocumented status during her valedictory speech and told the crowd at her McKinney, Texas, high school graduation she would be attending Yale University with a financial aid package in the fall.

Derived terms

• valedictorian
• valedictorily

Related terms

• valedict
• valediction

Translations

of or pertaining to a valediction; designed for or suitable to an occasion of bidding farewell or parting company

• Belarusian: развіта́льны (razvitálʹny)
• Bulgarian: прощален (bg) (proštalen)
• Dutch: betreffende een afscheidsrede (nl) f
• Irish: fágála, scoir
• Polish: pożegnalny (pl)
• Russian: проща́льный (ru) (proščálʹnyj)
• Ukrainian: проща́льний (proščálʹnyj)

of or pertaining to a valedictorian

See also

• salutatory

Noun

valedictory (plural valedictories)

1. An address given on an occasion of bidding farewell or parting company.
   • 2020 March 13, Katherine Butler, “How will we report on the EU now that the UK is out?”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[3], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 April 2020:

     [Jean-Claude] Juncker gave an emotional valedictory. When he stopped speaking, an Italian journalist stood up. "History will judge you, Mr Juncker," the journalist said solemnly, "but we will never forget you" before urging a round of applause for the Luxembourger's "30 years as a true European".

2. (specifically, Canada, US) A speech given by a valedictorian at a commencement or graduation ceremony.

Translations

address given on an occasion of bidding farewell or parting company

• Finnish: jäähyväispuhe

speech given by a valedictorian at a commencement or graduation ceremony

See also

• salutatory

Further reading

• valediction on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• valediction (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• valedictorian on Wikipedia.Wikipedia