Official praise or recognition given to someone for doing something good or impressive.
From Latin 'commendare,' meaning 'to entrust' or 'to praise.' The root 'com-' means 'with' and 'mandare' means 'to commit,' so it originally meant handing something over to care. Over time, it came to mean the highest form of praise.
Military commendations and medal ceremonies exist because humans have always needed public ways to say 'you did something awesome'—it's why we give out trophies, certificates, and awards; they make accomplishments feel real and remembered.
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