The person to whom something is dedicated, such as a book, artwork, or charitable work.
From 'dedicate' (Latin 'dedicare') plus the French-influenced suffix '-ee' (indicating the receiver of an action), similar to how 'employee' receives employment.
The '-ee' suffix is borrowed from French and shows how English loves to mark who receives an action—a dedicatee is lucky enough to have a book, concert, or building named in their honor.
The -ee suffix (recipient) has historically marked the person being honored; dedications (dedications to queens, saints, muses) shows gendered patterns in who received public dedications.
Use 'dedicatee' neutrally; specify context when honoring recipients of underrepresented backgrounds.
Women recipients of dedications were often muses or passive figures; historical recovery includes works dedicated to female scholars, patrons, and thinkers in their own right.
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