kudos

1
[ koo-dohz, -dohs, -dos, kyoo- ]
See synonyms for kudos on Thesaurus.com
noun(used with a singular verb)
  1. honor; glory; acclaim: He received kudos from everyone on his performance.

Origin of kudos

1
First recorded in 1825–35; irregular transliteration of Greek kŷdos

usage note For kudos

In the 19th century, kudos1 entered English as a singular noun, a transliteration of a Greek singular noun kŷdos meaning “praise or renown.” It was at first used largely in academic circles, but it gained wider currency in the 1920s in journalistic use, particularly in headlines: Playwright receives kudos. Kudos given to track record breakers. Kudos is often used, as in these examples, in contexts that do not clearly indicate whether it is singular or plural; and because it ends in -s, the marker of regular plurals in English, kudos has come to be widely regarded and used as a plural noun meaning “accolades” rather than as a singular mass noun meaning “honor or glory.”
The singular form kudo has been produced from kudos by back formation, the same process that gave us the singular pea from pease, originally both singular and plural, sherry from Xeres (an earlier spelling of the Spanish city Jerez), and cherry from the French singular noun cherise. This singular form has developed the meanings “honor” and “statement of praise, accolade.”
Both the singular form kudo and kudos as a plural are today most common in journalistic writing. Some usage guides warn against using them.

Words Nearby kudos

Other definitions for kudos (2 of 2)

kudos2
[ koo-dohz, kyoo- ]

noun
  1. plural of kudo.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use kudos in a sentence

  • For Kum Kale and for what he has done, suffered and lost he deserves great kudos in his country.

  • It was certainly a sporting method, and the hunter got many skins and much local kudos, the latter being certainly well earned.

    The Cradle of Mankind | W.A. Wigram
  • Well, I don't say I mayn't have got a certain amount of what they call "kudos," owing to Andromeda.

  • And compared with the kudos that would be hers, even the foregone royalty fell away into the background.

    Gray youth | Oliver Onions
  • Much kudos has accrued to Mr. Kruger for his magnanimity and much profit for his astuteness!

    The Transvaal from Within | J. P. Fitzpatrick

British Dictionary definitions for kudos

kudos

/ (ˈkjuːdɒs) /


noun
  1. (functioning as singular) acclaim, glory, or prestige: the kudos of playing Carnegie Hall

Origin of kudos

1
C18: from Greek

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012