Salutation n. : The act of saluting, or paying respect or reverence, by the customary words or actions; the act of greeting, or expressing good will or courtesy; also, that which is uttered or done in saluting or greeting.

Example:


Taxonomy
salutation, Madame, recipient, proper salutation, women, navy, German, princess, general officer, wife, Colonel, Docteur, Monseigneur, catholic, Commandant, geehrte, Chiranjeevi, free encyclopedia.

Defination from the web:
salutation is a greeting, in particular a formal greeting used in a letter. ... The salutation of "Dear" takes precedence in both British and American English, usually in both formal and informal correspondence, for example " ...