What does "oration" mean?

Oration: An elaborate discourse, delivered in public, treating an important subject in a formal and dignified manner; especially, a discourse having reference to some special occasion, as a funeral, an anniversary, a celebration, or the like; -- distinguished from an argument in court, a popular harangue, a sermon, a lecture, etc.; as, Webster's oration at Bunker Hill. The lord archbishop . . . made a long oration. Bacon. See Harangue.

Additional senses

  1. 2.To deliver an oration. Donne.

Sources