Here on the Meraki Community, we talk a lot about "kudos". You'll see Top Kudoed Authors and Top Kudoed Posts on the home page and each board, and the signatures of numerous community members mention something along the lines of "Found this helpful? Kudo me!" We also recognize the four top-kudoed community members each month through our Members of the Month announcements.
But what, exactly, are kudos?
According to Merriam-Webster, kudos are:
praise given for achievement
That's an accurate description for kudos on the community as well. Here, if you find a post especially helpful or interesting, you can show your appreciation by giving kudos. You do this by clicking the 
Feel free to try out giving kudos by giving this post some kudos below! (You must be signed in to do so. Learn more about registering for the community).
Cheers!
Based on my own experience, a now dead generation of the kind of folk that ran the Empire used the word quedo or quedos (that is how I assumed it was spelled based on the pronunciation) to describe unspoken/unrecorded acknowledgement of merit that, in extremis, could divert an otherwise deserved "rocket". Earning quedos was part of building a successful career.
I don't know at what point it entered US slang, or how. But if US-usage doesn't pre-date February 1943. I have a fairly good idea of the how/why. The term has been in pretty regular use in the UK military for a long time.
Originally, like so many other phrases, it could have its roots in India. In a world where people live in each other's pockets, quedos, like bitcoin was transferable and spendable in ways that are not always readily apparent.
So there is an interesting tradition as far as the modern kudos is concerned.
@uberseehandel
You are a font of fascinating knowledge, @Uberseehandel! After reading your comment, I'm tempted to replace our arrow kudos symbol with a rocket ship icon 
