definitions

accolade

[ ak-uh-leyd, -lahd; ak-uh-leyd, -lahd ]
/ ˈæk əˌleɪd, -ˌlɑd; ˌæk əˈleɪd, -ˈlɑd /

noun

any award, honor, or laudatory notice: The play received accolades from the press.
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.
the ceremony itself.
Music. a brace joining several staves.
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.

Nearby words

acclamation, acclimate, acclimation, acclimatize, acclivity, accolade, accolated, accommodate, accommodating, accommodation, accommodation address

Origin of accolade

1615–25; < French, derivative of a(c)colée embrace (with -ade -ade1), noun use of feminine past participle of a(c)coler, Old French verbal derivative of col neck (see collar) with a- a-5

Related forms

ac·co·lad·ed, adjective

Can be confused

accoladed accolated
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for accoladed

accolade

/ (ˈækəˌleɪd, ˌækəˈleɪd) /

noun

strong praise or approval; acclaim
an award or honour
the ceremonial gesture used to confer knighthood, originally an embrace, now a touch on the shoulder with a sword
a rare word for brace (def. 7)
architect a curved ornamental moulding, esp one having the shape of an ogee arch

Word Origin for accolade

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