Where does “talent” come from?
Talent comes from Middle English talente, from Old English talente, from Latin talentum, from Ancient Greek τάλαντον, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European telh₂-.
talent (English): A marked natural ability or skill; A unit of...
Definitions
- A marked natural ability or skill; A unit of...
Ancestry of “talent”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | talent | A talent ancient unit of money or weight |
| 2 | Old French | talent | desire; wish |
| 3 | Latin | talentum | A Grecian weight, which contained sixty minae or... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | τάλαντον | balance, scale; anything weighed |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | tl̥h₂ent- | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | telh₂- | to bear, to undergo, to endure; ground, bottom |