kudo

One entry found for kudo.

Main Entry: ku·do
Pronunciation: 'kü-(")dO, 'kyü-
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural kudos /-(")dOz/
Etymology: back-formation from kudos (taken as a plural)
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.