The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Salute \Sa*lute"\, n. [Cf. F. salut. See Salute, v.]
   1. The act of saluting, or expressing kind wishes or respect;
      salutation; greeting.
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   2. A sign, token, or ceremony, expressing good will,
      compliment, or respect, as a kiss, a bow, etc. --Tennyson.
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   3. (Mil. & Naval) A token of respect or honor for some
      distinguished or official personage, for a foreign vessel
      or flag, or for some festival or event, as by presenting
      arms, by a discharge of cannon, volleys of small arms,
      dipping the colors or the topsails, etc.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Salute \Sa*lute"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Saluted; p. pr. & vb.
   n. Saluting.] [L. salutare, salutatum, from salus, -utis,
   health, safety. See Salubrious.]
   1. To address, as with expressions of kind wishes and
      courtesy; to greet; to hail.
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            I salute you with this kingly title.  --Shak.
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   2. Hence, to give a sign of good will; to compliment by an
      act or ceremony, as a kiss, a bow, etc.
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            You have the prettiest tip of a finger . . . I must
            take the freedom to salute it.        --Addison.
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   3. (Mil. & Naval) To honor, as some day, person, or nation,
      by a discharge of cannon or small arms, by dipping colors,
      by cheers, etc.
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   4. To promote the welfare and safety of; to benefit; to
      gratify. [Obs.] "If this salute my blood a jot." --Shak.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

salute
    n 1: an act of honor or courteous recognition; "a musical salute
         to the composer on his birthday" [syn: salute,
         salutation]
    2: a formal military gesture of respect [syn: salute,
       military greeting]
    3: an act of greeting with friendly words and gestures like
       bowing or lifting the hat
    v 1: propose a toast to; "Let us toast the birthday girl!";
         "Let's drink to the New Year" [syn: toast, drink,
         pledge, salute, wassail]
    2: greet in a friendly way; "I meet this men every day on my way
       to work and he salutes me"
    3: express commendation of; "I salute your courage!"
    4: become noticeable; "a terrible stench saluted our nostrils"
    5: honor with a military ceremony, as when honoring dead
       soldiers
    6: recognize with a gesture prescribed by a military regulation;
       assume a prescribed position; "When the officers show up, the
       soldiers have to salute" [syn: salute, present]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

174 Moby Thesaurus words for "salute":
   accost, acknowledge, address, adulate, anniversaries, apostrophize,
   apotheosize, appeal to, approach, beat the drum, belaud, bend,
   bending the knee, bepraise, bespeak, bid good day,
   bid good morning, bless, blow up, boast of, bob, bow, bow to,
   bowing and scraping, brag about, buttonhole, call to, celebrate,
   celebrating, celebration, ceremony, commemoration, cry up, curtsy,
   deify, demonstrate respect for, dip, dip the colors,
   dip the ensign, dipping the colors, do homage to, dress ship,
   dressing ship, emblazon, embrace, eulogize, exalt, exchange colors,
   exchange greetings, extol, fanfare, fanfaronade, festivity, flag,
   flag down, flash, flatter, flourish of trumpets, genuflection,
   give a signal, give the nod, glance, glorify, greet, greeting,
   hail, hail and speak, half-mast, halloo, hand-clasp, handshake,
   hello, hero-worship, hoist a banner, holiday, homage, honor,
   how-do-you-do, hug, idolize, inclination, invoke, jubilee, kick,
   kiss, kiss hands, kneeling, kowtow, laud, leer, lift the hat,
   lionize, magnify, make a sign, make a signal, make much of,
   making a leg, marking the occasion, memorialization, memory, nod,
   nod to, nudge, obeisance, obsequiousness, observance, ovation,
   overpraise, panegyrize, pay homage to, pay respect to, pay tribute,
   pay tribute to, poke, porter aux nues, praise, present arms,
   presenting arms, prostration, puff, puff up, pull the forelock,
   raise a cry, recognize, rejoicing, religious rites, remembrance,
   render honor to, revel, reverence, rite, ritual observance, salaam,
   salutation, salvo, say hello, scrape, servility, shake,
   shake hands, sign, signal, signalize, smile, smile of recognition,
   solemn observance, solemnization, sound an alarm,
   sound the trumpet, speak, speak fair, speak to, stand at attention,
   stand to attention, standing at attention, submission,
   submissiveness, take aside, talk to, testimonial,
   testimonial banquet, testimonial dinner, toast, touch,
   touch the hat, tribute, triumph, trumpet, uncover, unfurl a flag,
   wave, wave a flag, wave the hand, wink