English
commend
Commend comes from Middle English commenden ‘to recommend, commend or laud’, and goes back to Latin mandō ‘to commit, intrust, enjoin’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmandō‘to commit, intrust, enjoin’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommendō‘commend, entrust to, commit, recommend’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400comender
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500commenden‘to recommend, commend or laud’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599commend
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmandō‘to commit, intrust, enjoin’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommendō‘commend, entrust to, commit, recommend’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400comender
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500commenden‘to recommend, commend or laud’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599commend
Earliest quotation: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “Commend me to my brother.”
A compound of manus ‘hand’ + dō ‘to put’
Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- ‘to beckon’
Proto-Italic *manus ‘hand’
Latin manus ‘hand’
Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- ‘give’
Proto-Indo-European *dédeh₃ti ‘to be giving’
Proto-Italic *didō ‘to give’
Latin dō ‘to put’
Linked words
through Latin mandō ‘to commit, intrust, enjoin’
mandatory, mandate, manger, mandible, mange, mandibular, commandery, 10 more
through Latin commendō ‘commend, entrust to, commit, recommend’
commander, commodore, commando, commandant, commandment, commandeer, 4 more
Today it means
verb To congratulate or reward.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin mandō / commend