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Webster 1913 Edition

Talent

Tal′ent

(tăl′ent)
,
Noun.
[F., fr. L.
talentum
a talent (in sense 1), Gr.
τάλαντον
a balance, anything weighed, a definite weight, a talent; akin to
τλῆναι
to bear, endure,
τολμᾶν
, L.
tolerare
,
tollere
, to lift up, sustain, endure. See
Thole
,
Verb.
T.
,
Tolerate
.]
1.
Among the ancient Greeks, a weight and a denomination of money equal to 60 minae or 6,000 drachmae. The Attic talent, as a weight, was about 57 lbs. avoirdupois; as a denomination of silver money, its value was £243 15s. sterling, or about $1,180 (using 1900 values).
Rowing vessel whose burden does not exceed five hundred
talents
.
Jowett (Thucid.).
2.
Among the Hebrews, a weight and denomination of money. For silver it was equivalent to 3,000 shekels, and in weight was equal to about 933⁄4 lbs. avoirdupois; as a denomination of silver, it has been variously estimated at from £340 to £396 sterling, or about $1,645 to $1,916 (ca. 1900). For gold it was equal to 10,000 gold shekels.
3.
Inclination; will; disposition; desire.
[Obs.]
They rather counseled you to your
talent
than to your profit.
Chaucer.
4.
Intellectual ability, natural or acquired; mental endowment or capacity; skill in accomplishing; a special gift, particularly in business, art, or the like; faculty; a use of the word probably originating in the Scripture parable of the talents (
Matt. xxv. 14-30
).
He is chiefly to be considered in his three different
talents
, as a critic, a satirist, and a writer of odes.
Dryden.
His
talents
, his accomplishments, his graceful manners, made him generally popular.
Macaulay.
Syn. – Ability; faculty; gift; endowment. See
Genius
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Talent

TAL'ENT

,
Noun.
[L. talentum; Gr. to bear, allied to L. tollo. The word is said to have originally signified a balance or scales.]
1.
Among the ancients, a weight, and a coin. The true value of the talent cannot well be ascertained, but it is known that it was different among different nations. The Attic Talent, the weight, contained 60 Attic minae, or 6000 Attic drachmae, equal to 56 pounds, eleven ounces, English troy weight. The mina being reckoned equal to f3 4s.7d. sterling, or fourteen dollars and a third nearly, the talent was of the value of f193 15s sterling, about $861 dollars. Other computations make it f225 sterling.
The Romans had the great talent and the little talent; the great talent is computed to be equal to f99 6s. 8d. sterling, and the little talent to f75 sterling.
2.
Talent, among the Hebrews, was also a gold coin, the same with a shekel of gold; called also stater, and weighing only four drachmas.
But the Hebrew talent of silver, called cicar, was equivalent to three thousand shekels, or one hundred and thirteen pounds, ten ounces and a fraction, troy weight.
3.
Faculty; natural gift or endowment; a metaphorical application of the word, said to be borrowed from the Scriptural parable of the talents. Matt.25.
He is chiefly to be considered in his three different talents, as a critic, a satirist, and a writer of odes.
'Tis not my talent to conceal my thoughts.
4.
Eminent abilities; superior genius; as, he is a man of talents.
[Talent, in the singular, is sometimes used in a like sense.]
5.
Particular faculty; skill. He has a talent at drawing.
6.
[Sp. talante, manner of performing any thing, will, disposition.] Quality; disposition.

Definition 2024

Talent

Talent

See also: talent

German

Noun

Talent n ‎(genitive Talents or Talentes, plural Talente)

  1. talent

Declension

Derived terms

talent

talent

See also: Talent

English

Noun

talent ‎(plural talents)

  1. A marked natural ability or skill. [from 15thc.]
    He has a real talent for drawing.‎
  2. (historical) A unit of weight and money used in ancient times in Greece, the Roman Empire, and the Middle East. [from 9thc.]
    • 1611, Authorized Version, 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.
  3. (obsolete) A desire or inclination for something. [14th-16thc.]
    • 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
  4. (business, media, sports) People of talent, viewed collectively; a talented person. [from 19thc.]
    The director searched their talent pool to fill the new opening.‎
  5. (slang) The men or (especially) women of a place or area, judged by their attractiveness. [from 20thc.]
    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.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:skill

Derived terms

  • talent scout

Translations

External links

  • talent in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • talent in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Anagrams

Catalan

Noun

talent m ‎(plural talents)

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

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin talentum

Noun

talent m

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

Synonyms

Related terms

  • talentovaný

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

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

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɛnt

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-.

Noun

talent n ‎(plural talenten, diminutive talentje n)

  1. talent

Anagrams

French

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”), from Proto-Indo-European *tl̥h₂ent-, from *telh₂-.

Pronunciation

Noun

talent m ‎(plural talents)

  1. talent

Anagrams

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

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Medieval Latin talentum

Noun

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

  1. (a) talent

Derived terms

References

Old French

Alternative forms

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)

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin talentum.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈta.lɛnt/

Noun

talent m inan

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

Declension

Noun

talent m pers

  1. (metonymically) talented person

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin talentum

Pronunciation

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

Noun

tàlent m ‎(Cyrillic spelling та̀лент)

  1. talent

Declension

Welsh

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

talent

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

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
talent dalent nhalent thalent
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /taˈlɛnt/

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