commendable

commendable

English

Etymology

From Middle English commendable, from Middle French commendable, from Latin commendabilis, from commendare (“to commend, intrust to”), from com- + mandare (“to commit, intrust, enjoin”), from manus (“hand”) + dare (“to put”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kəˈmɛndəbəl/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒmɛndəbəl/, /ˈkɒməndəbəl/[1]

Adjective

commendable (comparative more commendable, superlative most commendable)

1. Worthy of commendation; deserving praise; admirable, creditable, or meritorious.
   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i]:

     Thanks, i' faith; for silence is only commendable
     In a neat's tongue dried and a maid not vendible.

   • 1601, Ben Jonson, Poetaster or The Arraignment: […], London: […] [R. Bradock] for M[atthew] L[ownes] […], published 1602, OCLC 316392309, Act III:

     Tuc[ca]. […] Can thy Author doe it impudently enough?
     Hiſt[rio]. O, I warrant you, Captaine: and ſpitefully inough too; he ha's one of the moſt ouerflowing villanous wits, in Rome. He will ſlander any man that breathes; If he diſguſt him.
     Tucca. I'le know the poor, egregious, nitty Raſcall; and he haue ſuch commendable Qualities, I'le cheriſh him: […]

   • 2021 September 8, Phil McNulty, “Poland 1-1 England”, in BBC Sport‎:

     Gareth Southgate's side had performed with commendable maturity to control Poland and a hostile crowd giving thunderous backing to their team – but it all changed one minute into four minutes of stoppage time.

Related terms

• commend
• commendation
• commendatory

Translations

worthy of commendation

Belarusian: пахвальны (paxvalʹny) Bulgarian: препоръчителен (bg) (preporǎčitelen), похвален (bg) (pohvalen) Dutch: prijzenswaardig (nl), lofwaardig (nl), lovenswaardig (nl) French: louable (fr), digne d'éloges German: anerkennenswert, empfehlenswert (de), lobenswert (de), löblich (de), rühmenswert, vorbildlich (de) Greek: αινετός (el) (ainetós) Malayalam: പ്രശംസനീയ (ml) (praśaṃsanīya) Middle English: commendable Polish: chwalebny (pl), godny pochwały Romanian: lăudabil (ro), elogiabil, recomandabil (ro) Russian: похва́льный (ru) (poxválʹnyj), досто́йный похвалы́ (dostójnyj poxvalý) Scottish Gaelic: cliùiteach Spanish: alabable (es), loable (es), encomiable (es), meritorio (es) Turkish: methedilmeye layık, övülmeye değer, beğenilir (tr), önerilir, tavsiye edilir Ukrainian: похва́льний (poxválʹnyj)

See also

• commandable

References

1. Jespersen, Otto (1909) A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles (Sammlung germanischer Elementar- und Handbücher; 9)‎, volume I: Sounds and Spellings, London: George Allen & Unwin, published 1961, § 5.66, page 170.

Further reading

• commendable in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• commendable in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
• commendable at OneLook Dictionary Search

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• comendable, commendabell, commendabil, commendabill

Etymology

From Middle French commendable, from Latin commendabilis; equivalent to commenden +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌkumɛndˈaːbəl/, /ˌkɔmɛndˈaːbəl/, /-blə/

Adjective

commendable

1. commendable, admirable
2. (rare) praised

Descendants

• English: commendable

References

• “com(m)endāble, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2020-01-31.