valedictorian
42
7.9
- noun
- /ˌvælɪdɪkˈtɔːriən/
- US
:
mejor alumno de la promoción
- At the graduation ceremony, the principal introduced the valedictorian, who delivered an inspiring speech to her classmates.
- high school valedictorian
- graduated as valedictorian
- valedictorian and salutatorian
You had to be like valedictorian or like you had to be.
- You had to be like valedictorian or like you had to be.
- As you've guessed, she was the valedictorian, so she interrogated herself.
- And so Joe got up, gave her valedictorian speech and was talking about this guy.
- So my older sister was like on a roll valedictorian.
- But if you go to some other, you know, there's thousands of universities and MIT, you may not MIT valedictorian at MIT.
Examples
-
Some 40 years ago, I was fortunate to deliver the valedictorian's address at my small, rural Arkansas high school.
Academic text (2016) -
Harold was the outstanding student, the valedictorian, their mother would explain.
Academic text (1995) -
And so Joe got up, gave her valedictorian speech and was talking about this guy.
-
We're still gonna vote on valedictorian, though, right?
-
I did okay, but you were the Valedictorian.
-
His teachers talked about how he had a chance of being valedictorian next year.
Fiction book (2002) -
Lisa was placed in track one in high school and graduated valedictorian.
Academic text (1995) -
The last time I heard that voice was when Jason Finch gave the valedictorian address at our high school graduation.
Fiction book (1997) -
While honored to be the valedictorian of her class, there was an unmistakable air of sadness over the sudden death of Ryan Ashby.
-
I recently read that the US has 35,000 high-achieving valedictorians alone graduating each year.
Blog text (22)
Synonyms
A student who gives the farewell speech at graduation
How High-Ranking
Surface Forms
Morphology
valedictorian = valedictory (opaque) = vale + dict + orian
The word 'valedictorian' is derived from Latin roots, and the immediate base 'valedictory' is not a commonly used English word.
Etymology
The word valedictorian comes from the Latin parts vale 'farewell' and dicere 'to say', so it originally meant someone who 'says goodbye'. Today the valedictorian is the student chosen to give the 'farewell' speech at graduation, which is why the origin matches the modern meaning.