What Are Kudos?
Derived from the Greek word "kydos," "kudos" is an informal American term that means glory, fame or praise. A brief etymology of "kudos" shows that as usual, American English botched the grammar a bit. When the word popped up in the American lexicon, "kudos" was mistaken for plural, when in Greek, the "os" at the end of a word is singular.
Other People Are Reading
-
"Kudos" in American Academia
-
"Kudos" popped up in the mouths of American professors in the late 1700s, but wasn't officially ordained an English word until around 1831. One can imagine that Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution got him kudos all around, while Jesse James and Billy the Kid didn't get too much congratulations or praise for their contributions to history.
"You Ought to Be Famous"
-
Most likely, Plato received a lot of kudos in his day. The literal definition for the Greek "kydos" is, "You deserve to be famous." More than likely, Plato and Aristotle, two of the most renowned philosophers to date, got enough "kudos" to last a couple millennium. But in the age of reality TV, it's hard to discern who, exactly, ought to be famous.
-
Renowned Versus Kudos
-
"Kudos" is often interchanged with "renowned," which is an English derivative for the French word "renomer," which means "make famous." For example, if one says, "Kudos to the chef at that Italian restaurant," saying, "That Italian restaurant is renowned for its chef" would have essentially the same meaning.
Congratulating with Kudos
-
"Kudos" is often used as an informal synonym for "congratulations." If used in a sentence, you might say, "Kudos to Sally for her excellent work for the arts."
-
References
- Photo Credit Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
