coronation

Etymology

From Late Middle English coronacion, coronacioun (“crowning of a sovereign or his consort; powers conferred by this ceremony; crowning of the Virgin Mary; (figuratively) placing of a crown of thorns on Jesus; act of rewarding a person with eternal life, happiness, honour, etc.”) [and other forms], borrowed from Anglo-Norman coronacion and Old French coronacion, coronation, from Late Latin *corōnātiōnem, from Latin corōnō (“to coronate, crown (with a crown, garland, etc.)”) + -ātiōnem (suffix forming nouns relating to actions or their results). Corōnō is derived from corōna (“garland, wreath; crown”).

noun

1. (also attributively) An act of investing with a crown; a crowning.
   [A]nd if vvee be Spouſes of this Bridegroom Jesus], vvee cannot but (as vvee are exhorted) rejoyce in that the marriage of the Lambe is come, and the day of our ovvn coronation vvith an incorruptible Crovvn of glory. 1612, Thomas Taylor, “A Commentary upon the Epistle of St. Paul Written to Titus. [Second Chapter.]”, in The Works of the Judicious and Learned Divine Thomas Taylor[…], volume II, London: […] Tho[mas] Ratcliffe, for John Bartlet the Elder,[…], published 1659, →OCLC, page 352
2. (specifically, also attributively) An act or the ceremony of formally investing a sovereign or the sovereign's consort with a crown and other insignia of royalty, on or shortly after their accession to the sovereignty.
   King Charles III’s coronation is to be much less elaborate compared to his mother’s.
   Over the mantelpiece, which is high, with brass candlesticks and two ‘Coronation’ tumblers in enamel, hangs a picture of Venice, from one of [William Thomas] Stead’s Christmas Numbers – nevertheless, satisfactory enough. c. 1909 (date written; published 1934), D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “A Collier’s Friday Night”, in Three Plays: A Collier’s Friday Night, The Daughter-in-Law, The Widowing of Mrs Holroyd, Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, published 1969, →OCLC, act I, page 19
   King Charles [III] and Queen Camilla have been crowned on a historic day of pageantry, capped by cheering by crowds in front of Buckingham Palace. Thousands packed the Mall despite the rain, after a deeply religious Coronation service at Westminster Abbey and a huge procession through London. […] The Coronation did not formally change the King's status. Charles became King of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms in September, when his mother Queen Elizabeth II died after 70 years on the throne. […] This time, the ceremony emphasised diversity and inclusion, with more multi-faith elements than any previous coronation, with contributions from Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Sikh representatives. 6 May 2023, Sean Coughlan, “Coronation: King Charles and Queen Camilla Crowned in Historic Ceremony”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 2023-05-06
3. (figurative)
   1. A completion or culmination of something.
   2. A success in the face of little or no opposition.
4. (board games, rare) In the game of checkers or draughts: the act of turning a checker into a king when it has reached the farthest row forward.