talent

English

Etymology

From Middle English talent, from Old English talente, borrowed from the plural of Latin talentum (“a Grecian weight; a talent of money”), from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton, “balance, a particular weight, especially of gold, sum of money, a talent”). Compare Old High German talenta (“talent”). Later figurative senses are from Old French talent (“talent, will, inclination, desire”), derived from the biblical Parable of the Talents.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtælənt/
• (UK, also) IPA^(key): /ˈtalənt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ælənt
• Hyphenation: tal‧ent

Noun

talent (plural talents)

1. A marked natural ability or skill. [from 15th c.]
   • 1936 Feb. 15, Ernest Hemingway, letter to Maxwell Perkins:

     Feel awfully about Scott... I always knew he couldn't think—he never could—but he had a marvelous talent and the thing is to use it—not whine in public.

   He has a real talent for drawing.

   • Ability definition

     Suitableness. (1 of 7 ability definitions)

   • Skill definition

     Capacity to do something well; technique, ability. Skills are usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities, which are often thought of as innate. (1 of 4 skill definitions)

   • Whine definition

     A long-drawn, high-pitched complaining cry or sound. (1 of 2 whine definitions)
2. (historical) A unit of weight and money used in ancient times in Greece, the Roman Empire, and the Middle East, equal to about 30 to 60 kg in various times and places. [from 9th c.]
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew XXV:14-15:

     For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

   • Unit definition

     Oneness, singularity, seen as a component of a whole number; a magnitude of one. (1 of 24 unit definitions)

   • Weight definition

     The force on an object due to the gravitational attraction between it and the Earth (or whatever astronomical object it is primarily influenced by). (1 of 22 weight definitions)

   • Money definition

     A legally or socially binding conceptual contract of entitlement to wealth, void of intrinsic value, payable for all debts and taxes, and regulated in supply. (1 of 8 money definitions)

   • Ancient definition

     Having lasted from a remote period; having been of long duration; of great age, very old. (1 of 5 ancient definitions)
3. (obsolete) A desire or inclination for something. [14th–16th c.]
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter XX, in Le Morte Darthur, book X:

     But my hede said sir Palomydes I wille not ryde these thre dayes / […] / Truly said sir Lamorak / and I wille abyde here with you / And whan ye ryde / thenne wille I ryde / […] / therfor I pray you syr Dynadan abyde and ryde with vs / Feythfully said Dynadan I wylle not abyde for I haue suche a talent to see sir Tristram that I may not abyde longe from hym

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • Desire definition

     To want; to wish for earnestly. (1 of 6 desire definitions)

   • Inclination definition

     A physical tilt or bend. (1 of 6 inclination definitions)
4. (business, media, sports) People of talent, viewed collectively; a talented person. [from 19th c.]

   The director searched their talent pool to fill the new opening.

   • Business definition

     A specific commercial enterprise or establishment. (1 of 18 business definitions)

   • Media definition

     The middle layer of the wall of a blood vessel or lymph vessel which is composed of connective and muscular tissue. (1 of 5 media definitions)

   • Sports definition

     plural of sport
5. (slang) The men or (especially) women of a place or area, judged by their attractiveness. [from 20th c.]

   Not much talent in this bar tonight—let's hit the clubs.

   • 2011, Nic Venter, Wow! What a Life!, page 179:

     I went down to the beach front, of course, for that was the first thing that all Vaalies did: to look at the sea and to check the talent on the beach.

   • Attractiveness definition

     The state of being attractive or engaging. (1 of 2 attractiveness definitions)

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:skill

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

• “talent”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “talent”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• antlet, latent, latten

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin talentum, from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton).

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /təˈlent/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /təˈlen/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /taˈlent/

Noun

talent m (plural talents)

1. talent (Greek money)
2. talent (skill)
3. hunger

   Synonym: gana

   • Hunger definition

     A need or compelling desire for food. (1 of 2 hunger definitions)

   • Gana definition

     inflection of ganar: third-person singular present indicative second-person singular imperative (1 of 3 gana definitions)

Derived terms

• atalentat
• talentós

Further reading

• “talent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin talentum.

Noun

talent m inan

1. talent (unit of weight)
2. talent (actual or potential ability)

   Synonym: nadání n

   • Nadání definition

     verbal noun of nadat (1 of 2 nadání definitions)

Declension

Related terms

Further reading

• talent in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• talent in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• talent in Internetová jazyková příručka

Danish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Talent (“talent”), from Latin talentum, from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton, “balance, a particular weight, especially of gold, sum of money, a talent”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /talɛnt/, [taˈlɛnˀd̥]

Noun

talent n (singular definite talentet, plural indefinite talenter)

1. talent (potential or factual ability to perform a skill better than most people)

Inflection

See also

• talent on the Danish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^da

Etymology 2

From Latin talentum, from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton, “balance, a particular weight, especially of gold, sum of money, a talent”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /talɛnt/, [taˈlɛnˀd̥]

Noun

talent c (singular definite talenten, plural indefinite talenter)

1. talent (unit of weight and money)

Inflection

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch talent, from Old French talent, from Latin talentum, from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton, “a particular weight, balance”), from Proto-Indo-European *tl̥h₂ent-, from *telh₂-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taːˈlɛnt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ta‧lent
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

Noun

talent n (plural talenten, diminutive talentje n)

1. talent (gift, quality, capability)
2. (historical) talent (ancient weight, value of money or coin)

Derived terms

• met zijn talenten woekeren
• natuurtalent
• talentenjacht
• talentvol

Descendants

• Afrikaans: talent

Anagrams

• latten

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin talentum (“a Grecian weight; a talent of money”), itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton, “balance; a particular weight, especially of gold; sum of money; a talent”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ta.lɑ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

talent m (plural talents)

1. (historical, Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece) a talent (an obsolete unit of weight or money)

   • Ancient Rome definition

     The civilization associated with Rome from the 9th century BCE to the 5th century C.E. and the Roman Empire centered on it.

   • Ancient Greece definition

     The Greek-speaking world in ancient times, geographically referring not only to modern Greece and southern Balkan peninsula but also to areas of Hellenic culture that were settled during ancient times by Greeks: Cyprus, the Aegean coast of Ionia, southern Italian peninsula and Sicily (known as Magna Graecia) and the scattered Greek settlements on the coasts of what are now Albania, Bulgaria, Egypt, Libya, southern France, southern Spain, Catalonia, Georgia, Romania, and Ukraine. (1 of 2 Ancient Greece definitions)
2. a talent, a gift, a knack

   • Gift definition

     Something given to another voluntarily, without charge. (1 of 4 gift definitions)

   • Knack definition

     A readiness in performance; aptness at doing something. (1 of 3 knack definitions)

Derived terms

• talentueux

Further reading

• “talent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• latent

Middle English

Alternative forms

• taland, talande, talant, talente (all rare)

Etymology

From Old French talent and Old English talente, both from Latin talentum, from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taˈlɛnt/, /ˈtalɛnt/

Noun

talent (plural talentes or talens)

1. A talent (ancient unit of money or weight)
2. Will, inclination, or desire.

   • Will definition

     Used to express the future tense, sometimes with some implication of volition when used in the first person. Compare shall. (1 of 8 will definitions)
3. A base inclination or urge (especially lustful or for food)

   • Urge definition

     A strong desire; an itch to do something.

   • Lustful definition

     Full of lust; driven by lust.

   • Food definition

     Any solid substance that can be consumed by living organisms, especially by eating, in order to sustain life. (1 of 4 food definitions)
4. An emotion or feeling (especially positive or affectionate)

   • Emotion definition

     Movement; agitation. (1 of 3 emotion definitions)

   • Feeling definition

     Emotionally sensitive. (1 of 2 feeling definitions)

   • Positive definition

     Not negative or neutral. (1 of 24 positive definitions)

   • Affectionate definition

     Having affection or warm regard; loving; fond. (1 of 3 affectionate definitions)
5. A purpose; a plan or idea serving one.

   • Purpose definition

     The end for which something is done, is made or exists. (1 of 5 purpose definitions)

   • Plan definition

     (1 of 10 plan definitions)

   • Idea definition

     An abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect approximations; pure essence, as opposed to actual examples. (1 of 9 idea definitions)
6. (rare) Capacity, character, or nature.

   • Capacity definition

     The ability to hold, receive, or absorb (1 of 11 capacity definitions)

   • Character definition

     A being involved in the action of a story. (1 of 16 character definitions)

   • Nature definition

     The way things are, the totality of all things in the physical universe and their order, especially the physical world in contrast to spiritual realms and flora and fauna as distinct from human conventions, art, and technology. (1 of 12 nature definitions)
7. (rare) A talent (ability, skill).

Related terms

• maltalent

Descendants

• English: talent
• Scots: talent

References

• “talent, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin talentum.

Noun

talent n (definite singular talentet, indefinite plural talent or talenter, definite plural talenta or talentene)

1. (a) talent

Derived terms

• talentfull

References

• “talent” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Medieval Latin talentum.

Noun

talent n (definite singular talentet, indefinite plural talent, definite plural talenta)

1. (a) talent

Derived terms

• talentfull

References

• “talent” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old French

Alternative forms

• talant

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin talentum (“a Grecian weight; a talent of money”), from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton, “balance; a particular weight, especially of gold; sum of money; a talent”).

Noun

talent m (oblique plural talenz or talentz, nominative singular talenz or talentz, nominative plural talent)

1. desire; wish (to do something)

   • Wish definition

     A desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen. (1 of 4 wish definitions)

Descendants

• Middle English: talent, taland, talande, talant, talente (in part)
  • English: talent
  • Scots: talent

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin talentum, from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton), from Proto-Indo-European *tl̥h₂ent-, from *telh₂-

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈta.lɛnt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alɛnt
• Syllabification: ta‧lent

Noun

talent m inan (diminutive talencik)

1. talent, gift

   Antonym: antytalent

   • Antytalent definition

     lack of talent (1 of 2 antytalent definitions)

Declension

Noun

talent m anim

1. (historical) talent (ancient unit of weight and money)

Declension

Noun

talent m pers (diminutive talencik)

1. (metonymically) talented person

   Antonym: antytalent

   • Talented definition

     Endowed with one or more talents.

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

• talent in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• talent in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French talent.

Noun

talent n (plural talente)

1. talent

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• tàlenat (Bosnian)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin talentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tǎlent/
• Hyphenation: ta‧lent

Noun

tàlent m (Cyrillic spelling та̀лент)

1. (Croatia) talent

Declension

Welsh

Alternative forms

• talen (colloquial)

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈtalɛnt/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈtaːlɛnt/, /ˈtalɛnt/
• Rhymes: -alɛnt

Etymology 1

talu +‎ -ent

Verb

talent

1. (literary) third-person plural imperfect/conditional of talu

   • Talu definition

     three

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin talentum.

Noun

talent m or f (plural talentau or talenti or talennau or talents)

1. ability, aptitude

   • Aptitude definition

     Natural ability to acquire knowledge or skill. (1 of 2 aptitude definitions)
2. talent (“coin”)

Derived terms

• talentog (“talented”)

Mutation

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “talent”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies