commendation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English commendacioun,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French commendacion (“approval, praise”), also commendation,^[5][6][7] from Latin commendātiō (“recommendation, a commending”),^[6][5][7] a noun of action from commendō (“to commit to someone's care; to praise”),^[6][5][8] which is formed from the intensive com- and mandō (“to commit to one's charge”).^[6][5][9] The Anglo-Norman commendacion is recorded from 1390–1412, in the senses "praise" and "commendation of souls to God".^[10] Dictionary.com takes the Middle English form as coming through Anglo-French,^[3] and Merriam-Webster through Middle French.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The name of a church office commending the souls of the dead to God, ending with the prayer Tibi, Domine, commendamus: about 1225, in the Ancrene Riwle,^[6][9] about 1200 in Etymonline.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The OED notes that the senses appear in English in a different order from their development in Latin and French: the special church use came first, and the general sense followed.^[6][9] "Expression of approval" is recorded from the late 14th century,^[5][4] with a first OED record in Gower in 1393;^[6] Chaucer uses the word twice in this sense.^[2] From 1529 the plural meant greetings or respects sent to someone far away, now archaic;^[6] Johnson (1755) calls this a "message of love", beside "recommendation" and "praise".^[11] From 1555 it was also the recommending of a person to another's notice, as in a letter of commendation.^[6] From 1631 to 1680 the plural could mean renown or credit.^[6] The literal Latin sense of entrusting appears only in 1583.^[6] In feudal law it names a freeman's giving himself and his lands to a lord's protection, first recorded in Hallam in 1818.^[6][8] The sense of an award, especially to a military unit, is recorded in Merriam-Webster and Collins.^[4][12]

Timeline

• c. 1225 – an office commending the souls of the dead to God.^[6][8]
• 1393 – the expression of approval.^[6]
• 1529 – in the plural, greetings sent to those at a distance.^[6]
• 1535 – with a and in the plural, an expression of approval.^[6]
• 1538 – a thing that recommends (obsolete by 1694).^[6]
• 1555 – recommendation of a person to another's notice.^[6]
• 1583 – giving in charge, entrusting (obsolete).^[6]
• 1631 – in the plural, renown or credit (obsolete by 1680).^[6]
• 1818 – in feudal law, a freeman's giving himself and his lands to a lord's protection.^[6]
• 1883 – the giving of a benefice in commendam.^[6]
• 1885 – a commendatory prayer.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of commending; an expression of approval or praise: Her quick thinking earned the commendation of the whole crew.^[4][12][6]
2. A formal award or honour, as to a military unit.^[4][12]
3. Recommendation of a person to someone's favourable notice, as in a letter of commendation.^[6][11]
4. Something that speaks in a person's favour.^[4]
5. (Christian Church) An office or prayer commending the souls of the dead or dying to God; often in the plural.^[6][8][4]
6. (feudal law) A freeman's handing over of himself and his lands to the protection of a feudal lord.^[6][8]
7. (archaic) In the plural, greetings or compliments sent to someone.^{[6][8][4][11]}

Related words

• commend
• commendatory
• commendam
• command
• mandate

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
3. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
11. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins