Commends

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To express admiration for someone's qualities, to endorse an individual for a specific role, or to pay tribute to someone's achievements with appreciation
2. To show approval and respect for someone's actions, to advocate for someone in a formal context, or to celebrate an individual's accomplishments with recognition
3. To speak highly of someone or something with approval ; to formally suggest or support a person or action as suitable ; to assign trust or care of someone or something to another

Etymology: Commend comes from the Latin "commendare," built from "com-" (together) and "mandare," to commit or entrust. Its literal sense was handing something over into someone's keeping, and the hand-related idea is visible in its parts: "manus" (hand) and "dare" (to put or give) sit behind "mandare," which is why the word once carried the image of placing something physically into another's care. The word reached English through Old French "comender" and entered Middle English as "commenden," where it kept that sense of entrusting. Over time the meaning moved from handing over a charge to praising or recommending someone, so that the idea of trust became the idea of approval. Today "commends" often means speaking warmly of someone or formally backing a candidate or plan. Commend is a doublet of "command." Both descend from the same Latin verb, but "command" passed through a different route and took on the sense of giving orders, while "commend" kept the sense of entrusting and recommending.

Synonyms: praises, applauds, lauds

Antonyms: condemns, criticizes