medalist

Etymology

Etymonline and the Shorter Oxford take it as formed from English medal + -ist.^[2][3] Merriam-Webster and Webster's Third instead derive it from French médailliste, from medaglista, formed from medaglia (“medal”) and -ista,^[4][5] and Dictionary.com gives the same French and Italian chain.^[6] Medal itself is from médaille, from the same Italian word,^[2][7] which the OED traces to Medieval Latin medalia (“half a denarius”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person skilled in or interested in medals: 1682 in the OED,^[8] the 1680s in Etymonline^[2] and 1685 in Merriam-Webster.^[4][9] Dictionary.com dates the word to 1965–70.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The word first named a connoisseur or collector of medals, then, from 1756, a person who designs, engraves or makes them.^[8][2][3] From 1797 it was used of a person awarded a medal for merit,^[8][2] which is now the main sense, especially in sport, as in gold medalist and bronze medalist.^[10][3][4] In golf it also names the player with the lowest score in qualifying medal play.^[4][11]

Timeline

• 1682 – a person skilled in or interested in medals.^[8][3] Merriam-Webster dates it to 1685.^[4]
• 1756 – a designer, engraver or maker of medals.^[8][2]
• 1797 – a person awarded a medal for merit.^[8][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who has been awarded a medal, especially as a prize in a sporting competition: She became the youngest medalist at the championships.^[10][4][11]
2. In golf, the player with the lowest score in qualifying medal play.^[4][11]
3. A person who designs, engraves or makes medals.^[4][10][11]
4. A connoisseur or collector of medals.^[4][10][11]

Related words

• medal
• medallion

Usage notes

The American spelling is medalist, the British medallist.^[10][6] Merriam-Webster lists both.^[4]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
6. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin