dedication (n.)

late 14c., dedicacioun, "action of consecrating to a deity or sacred use," from Old French dedicacion "consecration of a church or chapel" (14c., Modern French dédication) and directly from Latin dedicationem, noun of action from dedicare "consecrate, proclaim, affirm, set apart," from de "away" (see de-) + dicare "proclaim" (from PIE root *deik- "to show," also "pronounce solemnly," and see diction). Meaning "the giving of oneself to some purpose" is from c. 1600. Sense of "an inscription to a patron or friend prefixed to a literary or musical composition" is from 1590s.