A blessing or expression of good wishes, often made by a religious figure at the end of a service or as a formal blessing.
From Latin 'benedictio', derived from 'bene-' (well) and 'dicere' (to say), literally 'a speaking of good things'. Entered English through religious and ecclesiastical use in the medieval period.
The word literally means 'speaking well'—and unlike a curse, which magically brings bad things, a blessing was believed to actually transmit goodness through the power of spoken words!
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