Commend

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /kəˈmɛnd/

Definitions

1. To speak highly of someone or something to show approval ; to formally entrust someone or something to another's care or protection
2. To praise or show admiration for qualities or actions ; to deliver or commit someone or something for safekeeping or responsibility
3. To express approval or admiration openly ; to assign responsibility or recommend for special attention

Etymology: The sense of praise is the later one. Latin "commendare" meant "to entrust" or "to commit to someone's keeping," built from "com-" (together, thoroughly) and "mandare," to commit or enjoin. That "mandare" is itself a compound of "manus," hand, and "dare," to put, so the original image is of placing something into another's hands. Recommending someone was a natural extension: handing a person over to another's care vouches for them, and praise followed from that. The word reached English through Middle English "commenden" and Old French "comender." Its close relative "command" came into English by a different route, through Old French "comander," so the two are doublets: one entered English as a verb of entrusting and recommending, the other as a verb of authority and ordering. Both descend from the same Latin verb and still carry traces of its hand-placing sense.

Synonyms: praise, applaud, commendate, laud, extol

Antonyms: criticize, condemn, denounce, disparage, scorn