kudos
UK[ˈkjuːdɒs]US[ˈkuːdoʊs]
n
praise and honor received for an achievement
Etymology
the word 'kudos' entered english in the late 18th or early 19th century as a learned borrowing from greek 'κῦδος' (kydos), meaning 'glory' or 'fame'. in greek, it was a singular noun, but its '-os' ending led english speakers to misinterpret it as a plural, similar to words like 'pathos'. this misconception gave rise to the erroneous back-formation 'kudo'. the greek term is believed to derive from the proto-indo-european root (s)keud-, meaning 'to cover, conceal', with an intriguing semantic shift from 'covering' to 'glory' possibly relating to the concept of a protective aura or fame that envelops a person.
Analysis
this word is a direct borrowing from greek and is not productively segmented using english spelling elements.
Examples
she received much kudos for her groundbreaking research.
the team deserves kudos for completing the project under such tight deadlines.
while the kudos is welcome, the real reward is knowing we helped.