dedication

American  

[ded-i-key-shuhn] / ˌdɛd ɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of dedicating.

2. the state of being dedicated.

   Her dedication to medicine was so great that she had time for little else.

3. a formal, printed inscription in a book, piece of music, etc., dedicating it to a person, cause, or the like.

4. a personal, handwritten inscription in or on a work, as by an author to a friend.

5. a ceremony marking the official completion or opening of a public building, institution, monument, etc.

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dedication British  

/ ˌdɛdɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of dedicating or the state of being dedicated

2. an inscription or announcement prefixed to a book, piece of music, etc, dedicating it to a person or thing

3. complete and wholehearted devotion, esp to a career, ideal, etc

4. a ceremony in which something, such as a church, is dedicated

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overdedication
  noun
• nondedication
  noun
• dedicational
  adjective
• rededication
  noun
• prededication
  noun
• self-dedication
  noun

Etymology

Origin of dedication

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English dedicacioun, from Latin dēdicātiōn-, stem of dēdicātiō, literally, “a declaring,” equivalent to dēdicāt(us) “declared, devoted” (past participle of dēdicāre; see dedicate) + -iō -ion

Explanation

Dedication means "committing yourself to something," like your dedication to marathon training that had you running every single morning for four months. Dedication can be complete devotion and faith in someone or something, like your dedication to your family, a ceremony in which something is officially named, like the dedication of a new building. Another kind of dedication is a short message written to someone, like the dedication "Happy Birthday, Uncle Fred," which you write inside the book you give him, or something extra added to an autograph, like "To my greatest fan!"

Example Sentences

Finally, the DEDICATION, which enables the proprietor or patron saint—the god chosen to watch over the article—to inhabit it mentally, like a divinity in his sanctuary.

From What is Property? by Proudhon, P.-J. (Pierre-Joseph)

And so we turn the leaf, and come to the DEDICATION.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 01, No. 03, January, 1858 by Various

My dear Wordsworth, you cannot imagine how proud we are here of the DEDICATION.

From The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 5 The Letters of Charles and Mary Lamb, 1796-1820 by Lucas, E. V. (Edward Verrall)

Related Words

• adherence
• allegiance
• commitment
• devotion