benedictory
- adjective
- /ˌbɛnɪˈdɪktəri/
:
benedictorio
- The ancient manuscript contained benedictory phrases intended to bless those who read its words.
Examples
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The priest offered a benedictory prayer over the newly married couple, wishing them a lifetime of happiness.
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With one hand raised in a benedictory gesture, he sits like a god blessing the world before him.
Fiction book (1992) -
The Jesus Program graphic stared out onto this holocaustal scene, maintaining His serene benedictory air.
Fiction book (1999) -
A frieze of stars and Y-form figures carries the spirit and the benedictory gesture of the Savior around the vehicle.
Academic text (1996) -
At Bilhari, Chandrehe, and Ranod, benedictory verses in inscriptions carefully describe the potency of the dancing lord.
Academic text (2008) -
Jackson's flirtations with the life of the university came mostly because he understood full well that the academy shaped many fashions of the day, with professors, perhaps for the worse, applying jumper cables or benedictory oils to sundry trends in the purlieus.
Academic text (1998) -
During the ceremony, the bishop delivered a benedictory speech that filled everyone with hope and joy.
Synonyms
Giving a blessing or wishing someone well
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
benedictory = benediction (transparent) = benediction + ory
Formed by adding the productive adjective-forming suffix '-ory' to 'benediction', yielding a meaning directly related to 'a blessing'.
Etymology
Benedictory comes from the Latin parts bene 'well' and dicere 'to say', the same 'dic' you see in dictionary, so it once meant 'to say good things'. That's why a benedictory speech or gesture gives a blessing or kind words.