valedictory
[val-i-dik-tuh-ree]
- bidding goodbye; saying farewell: a valedictory speech.
- of or relating to an occasion of leave-taking: a valedictory ceremony.
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- 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.
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Origin of valedictory
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for valedictory
Contemporary Examples
Lou's valedictory has been acclaimed, without sarcasm, as baseball's Gettysburg Address.
The congresswoman ended her valedictory to a man she described as “our icon” by saying “Michael Jackson, I salute you.”
This concession speech was both a tribute to his opponent and a valedictory to his lifetime of service to the country.
Historical Examples
She, herself, confessed it in the valedictory words she addressed to me.
The Strolling SaintRaphael Sabatini
"My beliefs can matter nothing," he compromised, and made her a valedictory bow.
The Lion's SkinRafael Sabatini
And might not her letter, when it did come, be a valedictory?
The Lure of the MaskHarold MacGrath
But there his common sense left him and he made a valedictory speech.
The Opal SerpentFergus Hume
It was her wish that Miss Morton should be chosen to deliver the valedictory.
Madge Morton's VictoryAmy D.V. Chalmers
valedictory
- a farewell address or speech
- US and Canadian a farewell speech delivered at a graduation ceremony, usually by the most outstanding graduate
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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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper