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