talent

talent
\ \ [13] Greek tálanton meant ‘balance, weight’, and hence ‘unit of weight or money’.
\ \ Latin borrowed it as talentum, using it metaphorically for ‘mental inclination’, and it was in this sense that English originally acquired it, via Old French talent. ‘Unit of money’ did not arrive (apart from one isolated Old English instance) until the late 14th century, and it was the use of the word in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14–30), in which a master gave his servants talents (money), which two of them put out to interest, earning their master’s approval, while the other less enterprising servant simply buried his, that led in the early 15th century to the use of the term for ‘aptitude, ability’.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Talent — Talent …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • talent — [ talɑ̃ ] n. m. • talant « état d esprit » 980; lat. talentum, gr. talanton « plateau de balance » I ♦ (1170) Antiq. Poids de 20 à 27 kg, dans la Grèce antique. ♢ Par ext. Monnaie de compte équivalant à un talent d or ou d argent. La parabole des …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Talent — may refer to: *Talent, a personal gift/skill *A show business personality or group of them *Tarento, the Japanese pronunciation of the word; a variety entertainment personality in Japan *Talent agent, a person who finds jobs for actors, musicians …   Wikipedia

  • talent — TALÉNT, talente, s.n. Aptitudine, înclinare înnăscută într un anumit domeniu; capacitate deosebită, înnăscută sau dobândită, într o ramură de activitate, care favorizează o activitate creatoare. ♢ loc. adj. De talent = talentat. ♦ Persoană… …   Dicționar Român

  • talent — TALENT. s. m. Certaine quantité, certain poids d or ou d argent, qui estoit different selon les differents pays où l on s en servoit anciennement. Talent Attique. talent Babylonien. talent d or. talent d argent. grand talent. petit talent. il mit …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Talent — steht für: eine antike Währungs und Gewichtseinheit, siehe Talent (Währung) im übertragenen Sinn eine überdurchschnittliche Begabung einen Fluss in der Schweiz, siehe Talent (Fluss) zwei Eisenbahn Triebwagen für den Nahverkehr, siehe Bombardier… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • talent — I {{/stl 13}}{{stl 8}}rz. mnż I, D. u, Mc. talentncie {{/stl 8}}{{stl 20}} {{/stl 20}}{{stl 12}}1. {{/stl 12}}{{stl 7}} szczególne, wybitne uzdolnienie w jakimś kierunku, predyspozycje, zdolności : {{/stl 7}}{{stl 10}}Talent artystyczny, malarski …   Langenscheidt Polski wyjaśnień

  • talent — UK US /ˈtælənt/ noun [C or U] ► a natural skill or ability: »The successful candidate will have both talent and drive. »The company benefited from her expertise and talents in sales. a talent for sth »He had a great talent for business. ► HR a… …   Financial and business terms

  • Talent — Sn std. (17. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus frz. talent m., dieses aus l. talentum, das wie gr. tálanton eine Gewichtseinheit bezeichnet, eigentlich Waage , zu gr. tlẽnai aufheben, tragen, wägen (dulden). (Eine frühere, vereinzelte Entlehnung… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • talent — [tal′ənt] n. [ME < OE talente < L talentum, a coin, orig., unit of weight < Gr talanton, a unit of money, weight, orig., a balance < IE base * tel , to lift up, weigh, bear > TOLERATE: senses 2 4 from the parable of the talents… …   English World dictionary

  • Talent — Tal ent, n. [F., fr. L. talentum a talent (in sense 1), Gr. ? a balance, anything weighed, a definite weight, a talent; akin to ? to bear, endure, ?, L. tolerare, tollere, to lift up, sustain, endure. See {Thole}, v. t., {Tolerate}.] 1. Among the …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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