Benediction

1. n. A solemn rite by which bells, banners, candles, etc., are blessed with holy water, and formally dedicated to God.
2. n. The act of blessing.
3. n. A blessing; an expression of blessing, prayer, or kind wishes in favor of any person or thing; a solemn or affectionate invocation of happiness.
4. n. The short prayer which closes public worship; as, to give the benediction.
5. n. The form of instituting an abbot, answering to the consecration of a bishop.

The word meanings were obtained from OPTED(The Online Plain Text English Dictionary), which is based on “The Project Gutenberg Etext of Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary” which is in turn based on the 1913 US Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary (See Project Gutenburg), as a text file.