talent

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ta.lɑ̃/^[1]

Forms

talent m (plural talents)^[1] Old French talant (about 980), talent from about 1050.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin talentum (“a Greek weight; a sum of money”), from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton, “pan of a scale; weight; sum of money”).^[3][5][1][6] The Greek word belongs to an Indo-European root meaning “to bear, carry”, also found in Latin tollō (“to lift”).^[3][7]

The medieval sense “desire, will” has been explained as a metaphor from the weight that tips the balance, or by a direct borrowing of the Greek word in the sense “inclination”.^[4][7] The modern sense “gift, aptitude” comes from the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14), in which two servants make their master's talents bear fruit while the third buries his; scholastic Latin already used the word for a natural gift, as in Abelard.^[8][3][2] Cognate with Italian talento, Catalan talent and Spanish talento.^[9][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Passion de Clermont (end of the 10th century) talant means a state of mind, a disposition or anger, and also desire or will: Vostres talenz ademplirai, “I will fulfil your wishes”.^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

In Old French talent meant desire, wish or will, as in the Chanson de Roland (n'unt talent qu'il li faillent), and also mood or temper.^[5][7][10] As a term of antiquity it named the Greek weight and sum of money from about 1170 (Livre des Rois); the sense “coin” is found in the 16th century.^[3][2]

From the 14th century it was used for a faculty or aptitude, and in the mid-16th century for the gifts of the Holy Spirit;^[5][8] Bloch and Wartburg note that the sense spread only after the Reformation.^[5][8] In the 17th century talent lost the sense “desire” and took that of a natural gift, and, from 1624 a particular aptitude in an activity, especially an artistic one.^[7][11][8] The adjective talentueux dates from 1881.^[8]

Timeline

• End of the 10th century – Talant “disposition; desire” in the Passion de Clermont.^[5]
• c. 1050 – Talent in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[2][5]
• c. 1170 – The Greek weight, in the Livre des Rois.^[3][2]
• 14th century – A faculty or aptitude.^[5]
• 1624 – “Aptitude in an activity”.^[11][8]
• 1762 – The Académie records enfouir son talent.^[2]
• 1881 – Talentueux.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (antiquity) A talent, a Greek unit of weight of 20 to 27 kilograms; a money of account of that weight in gold or silver.^[11][5]
2. A natural gift, an aptitude or knack: il a le talent de….^[11][1]
3. Marked ability in an activity, especially an art: un écrivain de talent.^[11]
4. A talented person.^[11][12]
5. Enfouir son talent: not to make use of one's gifts.^[5][2]

Word family

• talentueux

Related words

• Latin talentum
• English talent

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/1, 36b
7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
11. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)