'awardee' originates from English, formed by the noun 'award' plus the suffix '-ee' (borrowed from French '-é'), where the suffix '-ee' indicates 'one who receives or is affected by' an action.

'awardee' was created in Modern English by combining 'award' (an act of giving a prize or honor) with the agent/patient-forming suffix '-ee' (from French '-é'); this produced the noun meaning 'one who receives an award'.

Initially, the components simply signified 'one who is given (an award)'; over time the compound settled into the fixed noun 'awardee' with the current meaning 'a recipient of an award'.