Webster's English Dictionary

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oration

ora.tion \*-'ra--sh*n, o.-\ n [L oration-, oratio speech, oration, fr. 
   oratus, pp. of or]are to plead, speak, pray; akin to Russ orat' to yell : 
   an elaborate discourse delivered in a formal and dignified manner usu. o n 
   some special occasion