The act of encouraging or exhorting; urging someone to action through persuasive speech.
From Latin 'cohortari' (to encourage), which is 'co-' (together) plus 'hortari' (to encourage). The English noun form developed in the 16th-17th centuries.
In ancient Rome, generals would deliver cohortations to troops before battle—speeches of encouragement that turned nervous soldiers into focused warriors, making it one of history's earliest forms of motivational speaking.
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