lauds

Latin laus meant "praise," with the plural laudes meaning "praises." The term was used in Roman religious and civic speech. Early Christians adopted it for songs of praise at dawn. The word stayed plural in the office name.

By the 4th century, Latin Christians used laudes for morning praise. Ambrose of Milan died in 397, and his hymns set a model for praise in Latin worship. Benedict of Nursia's Rule in the 6th century fixed Lauds as a daily office. The name kept the plain sense of praise.

Old French had loes or loenge for praise, but the office name kept the Latin form. English borrowed lauds in the 15th century. The word is plural because it is a set of praises. That grammatical shape stayed stable.

Lauds remains the morning office, often near sunrise. The word also appears in literary uses for praises in general. Its origin is transparent in sound and meaning. Praise is the core that never left.