accolade

[ak-uh-leyd, -lahd]

noun

1. any award, honor, or laudatory notice.

   The play received accolades from the press.

2. a light touch on the shoulder with the flat side of the sword or formerly by an embrace, done in the ceremony of conferring knighthood.

3. the ceremony itself.

4. Music.,  a brace joining several staves.

5. Architecture.

   1. an archivolt or hood molding having more or less the form of an ogee arch.

   2. a decoration having more or less the form of an ogee arch, cut into a lintel or flat arch.

accolade

/ ˈækəˌleɪd, ˌækəˈleɪd /

noun

1. strong praise or approval; acclaim

2. an award or honour

3. the ceremonial gesture used to confer knighthood, originally an embrace, now a touch on the shoulder with a sword

4. a rare word for brace

5. architect a curved ornamental moulding, esp one having the shape of an ogee arch

Other Word Forms

• accoladed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of accolade¹

First recorded in 1615–25; from French, derivative of accolée “embrace” (with -ade -ade ¹ ), noun use of feminine past participle of Old French accoler, verb derivative of col “neck” ( collar ), with a- a- ⁵

Word History and Origins

Origin of accolade¹

C17: via French and Italian from Vulgar Latin accollāre (unattested) to hug; related to Latin collum neck

Example Sentences

Over the course of his career, Struzan collected accolades including a Saturn Award and an Inkpot Award.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Making sure the show is the best it can be, matters more to them than individual accolades.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The first No. 1 female K-pop song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, “Golden” has helped propel the “KPop Demon Hunters” soundtrack to its newest accolade.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Primal Scream were the first winners in 1992, with the accolade going to Leeds band English Teacher last year.

Read more on BBC

Lee holds no illusions as to whether his calling will gain him any notoriety or accolades.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• distinction 
• kudos 

When To Use

What is an accolade?

An accolade is an award, honor, or instance of positive acknowledgment or praise.The word is typically used in the context of honors and praise that have been given to a person throughout their professional career.It is especially used to refer to prestigious awards and honors that not many people receive.The adjective accoladed can be used to describe a person who has received many accolades, but the term is rarely used.The word accolade is also used in a few technical ways in the context of music and architecture.Example: It would take too long to list her many accolades, which range from professional awards to humanitarian honors to public messages of praise from her peers in the field.