English
talent
Talent comes from Old English talente, from Latin talentum ‘a Greek weight, sum of money’, from Greek τάλαντον ‘balance, weight’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- ‘to bear’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*telh₂-‘to bear’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*tl̥h₂ent-reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tálantonreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτάλαντονtálanton‘balance’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtalentum‘a Grecian weight’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150talente
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500talent‘a talent’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*telh₂-‘to bear’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*tl̥h₂ent-reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tálantonreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτάλαντονtálanton‘balance’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtalentum‘a Grecian weight’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150talente
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500talent‘a talent’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611same form
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “For the kingdom of heaven is as a man…”
The story
Later figurative senses are from Old French talent (‘talent, will, inclination, desire’), derived from the biblical Parable of the Talents.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- ‘to bear, endure’
toll, tolerance, atlas, tolerate, tolerant, tolerable, toleration, extol, tellurium, 18 more
Today it means
noun A marked natural ability or skill.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- / talent