Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

accolade

/ˈæk.əˌleɪd/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.82 in modern English

Syllables: ac-co-lade
IPA: /ˈæk.əˌleɪd/

13

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An expression of approval; praise.

noun

A special acknowledgment; an award.

noun

An embrace of greeting or salutation.

noun

A salutation marking the conferring of knighthood, consisting of an embrace or a kiss, and a slight blow on the shoulders with the flat of a sword.

noun

A brace used to join two or more staves.

noun

A written presidential certificate recognizing service by military personnel or civilians serving the US armed forces who died or were wounded in action between 1917 and 1918, or who died in service between 1941 and 1947, or died of wounds received in Korea between June 27, 1950 and July 27, 1954.

American usage

noun

An ornament composed of two ogee curves meeting in the middle, each concave toward its outer extremity and convex toward the point at which it meets the other.

noun

Synonym of curly bracket.

Example Sentences

"The scientist received the highest accolade in her field for the groundbreaking discovery."
"Winning the championship brought the team immense accolade from sports analysts worldwide."
"This film is likely to pick up major accolades."
"Rooney led Manchester United up the Wembley steps to collect the FA Cup and add a missing medal to his collection - a richly deserved accolade."
"[…] for the tears stood in the old gentleman's eyes, when, having first shaken Edward heartily by the hand in the English fashion, he embraced him a-la-mode Françoise, and kissed him on both sides of the face; while the hardness of his gripe, and the quantity of Scotch snuff which his accolade communicated, called corresponding drops of moisture to the eyes of his guest."
"“Rise, Sir Miles Hendon, Knight,” said the King, gravely—giving the accolade with Hendon’s sword—“rise, and seat thyself. Thy petition is granted. Whilst England remains, and the crown continues, the privilege shall not lapse.”"

Etymology

First use appears c. 1591 in the publications of Thomas Lodge, borrowed from French accolade, from Occitan acolada (“an embrace”), from acolar (“to embrace”), from Italian accollato, via Vulgar Latin *accollō (“to hug around the neck”), from Latin ad- + collum (“neck”) (English collar) + -āta.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: *kʷel-, accolade, acolada, accollato, *accollō, ad-

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈæk.əˌleɪd/
British English: /ˈæk.əˌleɪd/

Usage

American usage
Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

accolades (plural) accolades (present, singular) accolading (participle, present) accoladed (participle, past) accoladed (past)

Frequently Paired Words

collar

Synonyms

curly bracket panegyric award honor honour laurels

Questions

How do you pronounce accolade?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈæk.əˌleɪd/.
What does accolade mean?: An expression of approval; praise.
Where does accolade come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce accolade

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