SG Heritage Dictionary

Ovation [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

In Roman antiquity, a lesser triumph allowed to commanders who had conquered without blood, or defeated an inconsiderable enemy.

Ovation [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. A lesser kind of triumph allowed to a commander for an easy, bloodless victory, or a victory over slaves.

2. Hence: An expression of popular homage; the tribute of the multitude to a public favorite.

Ovation Encyclopedia Britannica

OVATION, an honour awarded in Rome to victorious generals. It was less distinguished than the triumph (see Triumph), and was awarded either when the campaign, though victorious, had not been important enough for the higher honour, or when the general was not of rank sufficient to give him the right to a triumph. The ceremonial was on the whole similar in the two cases, but in an ovation the general walked or more commonly rode on horseback.

9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 18, p. 76
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