The other day I observed someone walking down the middle section of Main Street picking up garbage and depositing it in a bag they were carrying. Kudos to them for helping keep our city looking beautiful.
A while ago I saw a person in the ditch on 9th Avenue NW picking up trash and hauling it away. Kudos to them also.
When we went to Japan for the first time in 2019, we were amazed at how clean the streets were, even in the city of Osaka (population over 6 million). Arriving back in Moose Jaw we were disappointed that our downtown streets were littered with garbage all over the place. I cannot dispense very many kudos to our citizens and visitors in downtown Moose Jaw when it comes to waste thrown down on the sidewalks and streets. We all have some work to do in that area.
Kudos is defined as giving praise for an achievement or receiving distinction for an act or special performance.
The word is derived from the Greek word kydos, meaning honour, glory or fame, especially in battle. Kudos have moved from the war arena to honouring someone for what they’ve achieved in any area of life, the effort they’ve put in, or for the character that they’ve shown.
Kudos is one of several Greek-derived English nouns ending in ‘os’, like pathos, ethos, and mythos. They are mass nouns. What separates kudos from the rest, however, is that it is often interpreted as plural. It makes sense to keep it in the plural form as other nouns relating to receiving praise are often in plural form. Examples are congratulations, accolades, awards, and honours.
Kudos the mass noun was adopted as British university slang in the early 1800s. This isn’t the first time English speakers have reinterpreted a mass noun as a plural. In Middle English one could only put some pease on a plate the way we put some butter on bread. Eventually, the mass noun pease was understood to be plural, and a single pea could be enjoyed all on its own.
Synonyms for kudos include acclaim, accolades, credit, glory, honours, laud, and laurels.
Acclaim means to applaud or praise. Movie critics acclaimed her performance in the recent film.
Accolades is a mark of acknowledgement or an expression of praise. She received the highest accolades of her profession. The movie has drawn accolades from both fans and critics.
Credit means recognition by name of a person contributing to a performance. His name was included in the credits in the information about the video game. It also implies recognition by a school or college that a student has fulfilled a requirement leading to a degree. She earned 15 credits last semester.
Glory is praise or distinction extended by common consent. The glory of her career was the moment of discovery of a black hole in the previously uncharted area of deep space.
Honours means a good name or public esteem. At the anniversary they gave honours to the founder of the company.
Laud denotes praise. There is an ancient hymn of Palm Sunday entitled “All Glory, Laud, and Honour to You Redeemer, King.” (Theodulf of Orleans 762-821 AD)
Laurels means a recognition of achievement. She won laurels for her work among the poor in the inner city.
Kudos to all those who are involved in civic activities that improve and beautify our city. Thank you!
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to wordwisdom2021@gmail.com. Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
