edification

plural edifications · alternative obsolete ædification

1. countableuncountableThe act of edifying, or the state of being edified or improved; a building process, especially morally, emotionally, or spiritually.

   Let euery one of vs please his neighbour for his good to edification.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 15:2

   2 more examples

   Caterina Pachetti had been a very pretty women, which she remembered more to her own edification than to that of her friends.

   1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 219

   It seems clear that he took great delight in his commonly perceived role as “the No 1 celebrity scientist”; huge audiences would attend his public lectures, perhaps not always just for scientific edification.

   2018 March 14, Roger Penrose, “'Mind over matter': Stephen Hawking – obituary by Roger Penrose”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 Sep 2022

2. archaiccountableuncountableA building or edifice.