salute

Definition

An utterance or gesture expressing greeting or honor towards someone, (now especially) a formal, non-verbal gesture made with the arms or hands in any of various specific positions.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin salūtō (“to greet; to wish health to”), from salūs (“greeting, good health”), related to salvus (“safe”).

Example Sentences

• "The soldiers greeted the dignitaries with a crisp salute."
• "The Roman salute, in which the right arm was raised in a straight and perpendicular manner, had been adopted by D'Annunzio during his regency in Fiume. Like other rituals utilized by D'Annunzio, the salute became part of the rising fascist movement's symbolic patrimony and was inherited by Mussolini's government."
• "Like lines of perspective or the beams of searchlights at Nazi Party rallies that shone into the night sky where they met in an infinitely distant beyond, the arms and hands of those giving each other the Hitler salute forever approached each other but never joined."