You might be more familiar with the word “valedictorian,” but it shares a root with “valediction,” and they have similar usages. A valedictorian is a student chosen to deliver a farewell address at a commencement ceremony, and a valediction is that farewell address itself. A valediction isn’t limited to high school graduations, though — it’s any sort of farewell address, or simply the action of saying farewell. From Latin, “vale” means “goodbye” and “dicere” means “to say,” giving us the etymology of both “valediction” and “valedictorian.”