Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BEN-E-DIC'TION, n. [L. benedictio, from bene, well, and dictio, speaking. See Boon and Diction.]

1. The act of blessing; a giving praise to God or rendering thanks for his favors; a blessing pronounced; hence, grace before and after meals.
2. Blessing, prayer, or kind wishes, uttered in favor of any person or thing; a solemn or affectionate invocation of happiness; thanks; expression of gratitude.
3. The advantage conferred by blessing. – Bacon.
4. The loan of instituting an abbot, answering to the consecration of a bishop. – Ayliffe.
5. The external ceremony performed by a priest in the office of matrimony is called the nuptial benediction. – Encyc.
6. In the Romish Church, an ecclesiastical ceremony by which a thing is rendered sacred or venerable. – Encyc.