the.com/commendation
Praise with paperwork — official enough to frame, hollow enough to forget.
means A formal expression of praise or approval, often awarded as recognition for achievement or service.
from From Latin commendare — 'to entrust, to commit to the care of' — itself built from com- (intensifying prefix) plus mandare ('to commit, to order,' the same root that gives us 'mandate'). Originally the word carried a sense of handing someone over to favorable notice, recommending them into good hands. Over time 'commending' someone shifted from an act of entrusting to an act of praising, and the noun settled into its current job: the certificate-shaped compliment.
- military version
- ranks below medal, above mere thank you
- corporate version
- often substitutes for an actual raise
- etymology
- from commendare, to entrust or commit
- shelf life
- glows briefly, then becomes drawer clutter