benediction

Noun

benediction (countable and uncountable, plural benedictions)

1. A short invocation for help, blessing and guidance from God, said on behalf of another person or persons (sometimes at the end of a church worship service).
   • to pronounce / give / say the benediction
   • the nuptial benediction

   Synonyms:

   blessing

2. In the Anglican church, the ceremony used to institute an abbot, analogous to the consecration of a bishop.
   • What Consecration is to a Bishop, that Benediction is to an Abbot; but in a different way: For a Bishop is not properly such till Consecration; but an Abbot being elected and confirm’d, is properly such before Benediction.1726, John Ayliffe, “Of Abbots, Priors, Abbies, Priories, &c.”, in Parergon juris canonici anglicani: or, A commentary, by way of supplement to the canons and constitutions of the Church of England...
3. A Roman Catholic rite by which bells, banners, candles, etc., are blessed with holy water and formally dedicated to God.
   • [He] later liked to attend benediction in the chapel at Brideshead and see the ladies of the family with their necks arched in devotion under their black lace mantillas; [...]1945, Evelyn Waugh, chapter 5, in Brideshead Revisited […], London: Chapman & Hall, published 1952, →OCLC, book 1 (Et in Arcadia Ego), page 98
4. Help, good fortune or reward from God or another supernatural source.
   • […] they throng who should buy first, as if my trinkets had been hallowed and brought a benediction to the buyer:c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
   • Homeward serenely she walked with God’s benediction upon her.1847 November 1, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline, a Tale of Acadie, Boston, Mass.: William D. Ticknor & Company, →OCLC, part I

   Synonyms:

   blessing, grace