salutation
sal·u·ta·tion/ˌsæljuˈteɪʃən/noun
salutation is spelled S-A-L-U-T-A-T-I-O-N: 10 letters and 4 syllables (sal·u·ta·tion). It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,788th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, salutation means “A greeting, salute, or address; a hello” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of salutation is salutations.
How many letters and syllables are in salutation?
| Letters | 10: S-A-L-U-T-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: sal·u·ta·tion |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 56,788th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is salutation?
Salutation appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,788th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce salutation?
- /ˌsæljuˈteɪʃən/
- /ˌsæljəˈteɪʃən/
Salutation has 4 syllables, split sal·u·ta·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-salutation.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of salutation
- salutations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does salutation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A greeting, salute, or address; a hello.
- 2
A conventional greeting that begins a letter, such as "Dear Sir".
- 3
The act of greeting.
- 4
obsoleteQuickening; excitement.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Salutation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Begrüßung , Titel |
| Spanish | salutación, saludación, saludo |
| French | titre |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does salutation come from?
From Middle English salutacioun, from Old French salutacion, from Latin salutatio (“a greeting, a wishing health to”), from saluto (“wish one’s health, greet”), from salus (“well-being”). Compare the Latin greeting salve (literally “be well”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).