Etymograph

English

commendably

Commendably comes from Latin commendabilis ‘commendable’, and goes back to commendō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommendō1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommendabilis2‘commendable’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600commendable2
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500commendable3‘commendable, admirable’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500commendably4
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2022commendably4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin commendabilis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English commendable
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Middle English commendably
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English commendably
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2022, Aditya Chakrabortty, Western values? They enthroned the monster who is shelling U: “Condoleezza Rice pops up on Fox to be told…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommendōWiktionary, Latin commendabilis
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommendabilisWiktionary, Middle English commendable‘commendable’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600commendableWiktionary, Middle English commendable
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500commendableWiktionary, Middle English commendably‘commendable, admirable’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500commendablyWiktionary, English commendably
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2022commendablyWiktionary, English commendably. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2022, Aditya Chakrabortty, Western values? They enthroned the monster who is shelling U: “Condoleezza Rice pops up on Fox to be told…”

Formed from commendable + -ly

Latin mandare ‘to commit, intrust, enjoin’

Latin commendare ‘to commend, intrust to’

Latin commendabilis

Middle French commendable

Middle English commendable ‘commendable, admirable’

English commendable

Linked words

through Latin commendō

commander, commodore, commando, commandant, commandment, commandeer, 4 more

Today it means

adv In a commendable manner.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “commendably”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin commendabilis, Middle English commendable, Middle English commendably. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin commendō / commendably

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