English
commendation
Commendation comes from Old French commendacion ‘approval, praise’, from Latin commendatio ‘recommendation, commendation’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *manus ‘hand’.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*manus‘hand’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*manuðō‘to hand over’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmandō‘commit, intrust, enjoin’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommendōas commendare‘to commend, entrust to, commit’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommendatio‘recommendation, commendation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400commendacion‘approval, praise’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500commendacioun‘Commendation, extolling’
- Englishearliest quotation 1978commendation
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*manus‘hand’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*manuðō‘to hand over’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmandō‘commit, intrust, enjoin’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommendōas commendare‘to commend, entrust to, commit’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommendatio‘recommendation, commendation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400commendacion‘approval, praise’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500commendacioun‘Commendation, extolling’
- Englishearliest quotation 1978commendation
Earliest quotation: 1978, 1976, Leszek Kołakowski: “It would, of course, be absurd to say that…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- ‘to beckon, signal’
amaze, mannered, mastiff, 27 more
through Proto-Italic *manus ‘hand’
main, manner, manage, manual, manga, manifest, mano, manus, manacles, 26 more
through Latin mandō ‘commit, intrust, enjoin’
mandatory, mandate, manger, mandible, mange, mandibular, commandery, 10 more
through Latin commendō ‘to commend, entrust to, commit’
commander, commodore, commando, commandant, commandment, commandeer, 4 more
Today it means
noun The act of commending; praise; favorable representation in words; recommendation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *manus / commendation