salutation

C2+ Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /ˌsæljəˈteɪʃən/ UK /ˌsæljʊˈteɪʃən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a greeting in words or gesture, especially at the start of a letter

The letter opened with a formal salutation to the board.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a greeting in words or... greeting welcome address salute hail

Opposites

farewell

Word family

Derived forms salutatorysalutatorian

Related forms salute salutary

Etymology

From Latin salutatio ('a greeting'), from salutare ('to greet, wish health to'), from salus (stem salut-) 'health, well-being'.

salutatio Latin salus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

External links

# salutation

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌsæljəˈteɪʃən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌsæljʊˈteɪʃən/

## Meanings
1. a greeting in words or gesture, especially at the start of a letter

## Examples
- The letter opened with a formal salutation to the board.

## Synonyms
- greeting
- welcome
- address
- salute
- hail

## Antonyms
- farewell

## Derived Forms
- salutatory
- salutatorian

## Related Forms
- salute
- salutary

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: salutatio
- Root: salus

## Etymology
From Latin salutatio ('a greeting'), from salutare ('to greet, wish health to'), from salus (stem salut-) 'health, well-being'.

## AI Etymology
Salutation comes from Latin salutatio ('a greeting'), from salutare ('to greet, wish health to'), from salus (stem salut-) 'health, well-being'. The historical chain includes Latin salutatio and Latin salus. The quoted older senses, "a greeting", "to greet, wish health to", and "health, well-being", supply the semantic anchors for salutation. The formation is best read as borrowed: the word salutation carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "a greeting in words or gesture, especially at the start of a letter". English derivatives include salutatory and salutatorian; related English forms include salute and salutary. The result is a noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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