[h=2]ku·dos[/h][SUP]1 [/SUP] [koo-dohz, -dohs, -dos, kyoo-] Show IPA
noun ( used with a singular verb )honor; glory; acclaim: He received kudos from everyone on his performance.
Origin:
1825–35; irregular transliteration of Greek kŷdos
Usage note
In the 19th century, kudos [SUP]1 [/SUP] entered English as a singular noun, a transliteration of a Greek singular nounkŷdos meaning “praise or renown.” It was at first used largely in academic circles, but it gained widercurrency in the 1920s in journalistic use, particularly in headlines: Playwright receives kudos. Kudos given totrack record breakers. Kudos is often used, as in these examples, in contexts that do not clearly indicatewhether it is singular or plural; and because it ends in -s, the marker of regular plurals in English, kudos has come to be widely regarded and used as a plural noun meaning “accolades” rather than as a singularmass noun meaning “honor or glory.”