salutation (redirected from salutational)

sal·u·ta·tion  (sly-tshn)

n.

1.

a. A polite expression of greeting or goodwill.

b. salutations Greetings indicating respect and affection; regards.

2. A gesture of greeting, such as a bow or kiss.

3. A word or phrase of greeting used to begin a letter or message.

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salu·tation·al adj.

Usage Note: The informality of electronic mail poses a problem for the traditional norms of epistolary style. In a formal e-mail message, there is nothing out of place in beginning with a formula such as Dear Professor Fillmore and closing with Very truly yours. Since e-mail is a relatively new medium for communication, however, set phrases for informal greetings and closings are still being established. At times, the salutation and valediction are left out entirely, even when the correspondents do not know each other well. Informal salutations include common greetings like Hi or simply the addressee's name. People have been much more creative with the closing, employing terms such as best wishes and cheers, the latter term previously associated with British use and perhaps adopted because it sounds a neutral note between the kind of closings used in letters and phone calls. Still more informal is TTFN, an abbreviation for ta-ta for now, another Briticism.

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salutation

Noun

Formal a greeting by words or actions [Latin salutare to greet]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	salutation - an act of honor or courteous recognition; "a musical salute to the composer on his birthday" salute credit, recognition - approval; "give her recognition for trying"; "he was given credit for his work"; "give her credit for trying"
	2.	salutation - (usually plural) an acknowledgment or expression of good will (especially on meeting) greeting plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one acknowledgement, acknowledgment - a statement acknowledging something or someone; "she must have seen him but she gave no sign of acknowledgment"; "the preface contained an acknowledgment of those who had helped her" well-wishing - an expression of good will from one person to another; "much hand-shaking and well-wishing" compliments, regard, wish - (usually plural) a polite expression of desire for someone's welfare; "give him my kind regards"; "my best wishes" reception, response - the manner in which something is greeted; "she did not expect the cold reception she received from her superiors" hail - enthusiastic greeting kiss of peace, pax - (Roman Catholic Church) a greeting signifying Christian love for those assisting at the Eucharist welcome - a greeting or reception; "the proposal got a warm welcome" salute - an act of greeting with friendly words and gestures like bowing or lifting the hat hello, hi, howdy, hullo, how-do-you-do - an expression of greeting; "every morning they exchanged polite hellos" good morning, morning - a conventional expression of greeting or farewell good afternoon, afternoon - a conventional expression of greeting or farewell military greeting, salute - a formal military gesture of respect visiting card, calling card, card - a printed or written greeting that is left to indicate that you have visited
	3.	salutation - word of greeting used to begin a letter opening - the initial part of the introduction; "the opening established the basic theme"