salutation

[ sal-yuh-tey-shuhn ]
See synonyms for: salutationsalutations on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the act of saluting.

  2. something uttered, written, or done by way of saluting.

  1. a word or phrase serving as the prefatory greeting in a letter or speech, as Dear Sir in a letter or Ladies and Gentlemen in a speech.

Origin of salutation

1
1350–1400; Middle English <Latin salūtātiōn- (stem of salūtātiō) greeting, equivalent to salūtāt(us) (past participle of salūtāre to greet; see salute, -ate1) + -iōn--ion

Other words from salutation

  • sal·u·ta·tion·al, adjective
  • sal·u·ta·tion·less, adjective
  • non·sal·u·ta·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use salutation in a sentence

  • No communications passed between him and the stranger after the first salutations of the morning.

    The Spy | J. Fenimore Cooper
  • I made him my salutations, and complimented him upon his look of health; for I feared he had perhaps been ill.

British Dictionary definitions for salutation

salutation

/ (ˌsæljʊˈteɪʃən) /


noun
  1. an act, phrase, gesture, etc, that serves as a greeting

  2. a form of words used as an opening to a speech or letter, such as Dear Sir or Ladies and Gentlemen

  1. the act of saluting

Origin of salutation

1
C14: from Latin salūtātiō, from salūtāre to greet; see salute

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