valedictory

[val-i-dik-tuh-ree]

See more synonyms for valedictory on Thesaurus.com

adjective

bidding goodbye; saying farewell: a valedictory speech.
of or relating to an occasion of leave-taking: a valedictory ceremony.

noun, plural val·e·dic·to·ries.

an address or oration delivered at the commencement exercises of a college or school on behalf of the graduating class.
any farewell address or oration.

Origin of valedictory

1645–55; < Latin valedict(us) (see valediction) + -ory¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for valedictory

terminal, goodbye, last, final, parting, departing

Examples from the Web for valedictory

Contemporary Examples of valedictory

Lou's valedictory has been acclaimed, without sarcasm, as baseball's Gettysburg Address.
The Stacks: The Day Lou Gehrig Delivered Baseball’s Gettysburg Address
Ray Robinson
July 4, 2014
The congresswoman ended her valedictory to a man she described as “our icon” by saying “Michael Jackson, I salute you.”
The Constitution Is 400 Years Old and More Pearls From Sheila Jackson Lee
Ben Jacobs
March 13, 2014
This concession speech was both a tribute to his opponent and a valedictory to his lifetime of service to the country.
A Speech to Make the World Stop
Mark Katz
November 5, 2008

Historical Examples of valedictory

She, herself, confessed it in the valedictory words she addressed to me.
The Strolling Saint
Raphael Sabatini
"My beliefs can matter nothing," he compromised, and made her a valedictory bow.
The Lion's Skin
Rafael Sabatini
And might not her letter, when it did come, be a valedictory?
The Lure of the Mask
Harold MacGrath
But there his common sense left him and he made a valedictory speech.
The Opal Serpent
Fergus Hume
It was her wish that Miss Morton should be chosen to deliver the valedictory.
Madge Morton's Victory
Amy D.V. Chalmers

British Dictionary definitions for valedictory

valedictory

noun plural -ries

a farewell address or speech
US and Canadian a farewell speech delivered at a graduation ceremony, usually by the most outstanding graduate

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

Word Origin and History for valedictory

adj.

1650s, from Latin valedictum (past participle of valedicere; see valediction) + -ory. Valedictory address is recorded from 1779.