- Main Entry:
- ku·do

- Pronunciation:
-
\ˈkü-(ˌ)dō, ˈkyü-\
- Function:
- noun
- Inflected Form(s):
- plural kudos
\-(ˌ)dōz\
- Etymology:
- back-formation from kudos (taken as a plural)
- Date:
- 1926
1
: award, honor <a score of honorary degrees and…other kudos— Time>
2
: compliment, praise <to all three should go some kind of special kudo for refusing to succumb — Al Hine>
usage Some commentators hold that since kudos is a singular word it cannot be used as a plural and that the word kudo is impossible. But kudo does exist; it is simply one of the most recent words created by back-formation from another word misunderstood as a plural. Kudos was introduced into English in the 19th century; it was used in contexts where a reader unfamiliar with Greek could not be sure whether it was singular or plural. By the 1920s it began to appear as a plural, and about 25 years later kudo began to appear. It may have begun as a misunderstanding, but then so did cherry and pea.