talent

See also: Talent

English

Etymology

From Middle English talent, from Old English talente, borrowed from the plural of Latin talentum (“a Grecian weight; a talent of money”), from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton, “balance, a particular weight, especially of gold, sum of money, a talent”). Compare Old High German talenta (“talent”). Later figurative senses are from Old French talent (“talent, will, inclination, desire”), derived from the biblical Parable of the Talents.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtælənt/
• (Standard Southern British) IPA^(key): /ˈtalənt/
• (Indic) IPA^(key): /ˈʈalɛɳʈ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ælənt
• Hyphenation: tal‧ent

Noun

talent (plural talents)

1. A marked natural ability or skill.

   Synonyms: endowment, gift

   • 1936 Feb. 15, Ernest Hemingway, letter to Maxwell Perkins:

     Feel awfully about Scott... I always knew he couldn't think—he never could—but he had a marvelous talent and the thing is to use it—not whine in public.

   He has a real talent for drawing.

2. (historical) A unit of weight and money used in ancient times in Greece, the Roman Empire, and the Middle East, equal to about 30 to 60 kg in various times and places.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew XXV:14-15:

     For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

3. (obsolete) A desire or inclination for something. [until 16th c.]
4. (business, media, sports) People of talent, viewed collectively; a talented person. [from 19th c.]

   The director searched their talent pool to fill the new opening.

   • 2025 October 4, Maureen Dowd, “When A.I. Came for Hollywood”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 5 October 2025:

     And all over Hollywood, suits are licking their chops at the prospect of more malleable actors. “She’s not going to talk back,” one top talent wrangler told me dryly.

5. (slang) The men or (especially) women of a place or area, judged by their attractiveness. [from 20th c.]

   Not much talent in this bar tonight—let's hit the clubs.

   • 2011, Nic Venter, Wow! What a Life!, page 179:

     I went down to the beach front, of course, for that was the first thing that all Vaalies did: to look at the sea and to check the talent on the beach.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:skill

Derived terms

• talent community
• talent contest
• talent management
• talent scout
• talent show
• talent-spotter
• talent-spotting
• talent stack
• voice talent

Translations

marked ability or skill

• Albanian: dhunti (sq), prirje (sq)
• Arabic: مَوْهِبَة f (mawhiba)
• Armenian: տաղանդ (hy) (taġand), շնորհք (hy) (šnorhkʻ), ձիրք (hy) (jirkʻ)
• Asturian: talentu m
• Azerbaijani: istedad (az)
• Belarusian: тала́нт m (talánt), дар m (dar), адо́ранасць f (adóranascʹ)
• Bulgarian: тала́нт (bg) m (talánt), дар (bg) m (dar)
• Catalan: talent (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 才能 (zh) (cáinéng), 天賦 / 天赋 (zh) (tiānfù), 才華 / 才华 (zh) (cáihuá)

• Czech: talent (cs), nadání (cs) n
• Danish: talent n, begavelse
• Dutch: talent (nl) n, aanleg (nl) m, gave (nl) f, begaafdheid (nl) f
• Esperanto: talento (eo)
• Estonian: talent (et)
• Finnish: kyky (fi), lahjakkuus (fi)
• French: talent (fr) m
• Galician: talento m
• Georgian: ტალანტი (ṭalanṭi), ნიჭი (nič̣i)
• German: Talent (de) n, Begabung (de) f
• Greek: ταλέντο (el) n (talénto), τάλαντο (el) n (tálanto)
• Hebrew: כִּשָּׁרוֹן (he) m (kisharón)
• Hindi: प्रतिभा (hi) f (pratibhā)
• Hungarian: tehetség (hu)
• Icelandic: hæfileiki (is) m, gáfa (is) f
• Indonesian: bakat (id), talenta (id)
• Interlingua: talento
• Italian: talento (it) m
• Japanese: 才能 (ja) (さいのう, sainō), 天賦 (ja) (て​んぷ, tenpu)
• Kannada: please add this translation if you can
• Kazakh: дарын (daryn)
• Khmer: ទេពកោសល្យ (teip kaosɑl)
• Korean: 재능(才能) (ko) (jaeneung), 천부(天賦) (ko) (cheonbu)
• Kyrgyz: талант (ky) (talant)
• Ladino: talento, marafet
• Latin: indoles f
• Latvian: talants m
• Lithuanian: talentas m
• Malay: bakat (ms)
• Malayalam: കഴിവ് (ml) (kaḻivŭ)
• Maori: parapara, pūmanawa
• Middle English: besaunt, talent
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: авъяас (avʺjaas)

• Navajo: haniih, yeʼaniihígíí
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: talent n

• Occitan: talent (oc) m
• Ojibwe: nagajiiwin
• Oromo: kennaa
• Ottoman Turkish: صنعت (sanʼat, zanʼat), هنر (hüner)
• Persian: استعداد (fa) (este'dâd), تالنت (tâlent)
• Plautdietsch: Bejriff m
• Polish: talent (pl) m, dar (pl) m, zdolność (pl) f
• Portuguese: talento (pt) m
• Romanian: talent (ro) n
• Russian: тала́нт (ru) m (talánt), дар (ru) m (dar), одарённость (ru) f (odarjónnostʹ)
• Sanskrit: गुण (sa) m (guṇa)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: та̀лент m, на̀да̄рено̄ст f, о̀бда̄рено̄ст f

  Roman: tàlent (sh) m, nàdārenōst (sh) f, òbdārenōst (sh) f

• Sicilian: spirtizza f, gnegnu (scn) m
• Slovak: talent m, nadanie n
• Slovene: talènt m, nadarjenost f
• Sotho: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: talento (es) m
• Swahili: kipaji (sw), talanta (sw)
• Swedish: talang (sv) c
• Tagalog: talento
• Tajik: истеъдод (iste'dod), талант (talant)
• Tamil: திறமை (ta) (tiṟamai)
• Telugu: సామర్థ్యము (te) (sāmarthyamu)
• Thai: พรสวรรค์ (pɔɔn-sà-wǎn)
• Turkish: yetenek (tr)
• Ukrainian: тала́нт m (talánt), дар (uk) m (dar), зді́бність f (zdíbnistʹ), обдаро́ваність f (obdaróvanistʹ)
• Uzbek: isteʻdod, talant (uz)
• Vietnamese: tài năng (vi) (才能)
• Welsh: talent (cy) m
• Yiddish: פֿעהיגקײַט f (fehigkayt), פֿעיִקײַט f (feikayt), טאַלאַנט m (talant)

unit of weight and money

• Asturian: talentu m
• Bulgarian: талант (bg) m (talant)
• Catalan: talent (ca) m
• Czech: talent (cs) m
• Danish: talent n or c
• Esperanto: kikaro, talanto
• Estonian: talent (et)
• Finnish: talentti (fi)
• French: talent (fr) m
• Galician: talento m
• German: Talent (de) n
• Greek: τάλαντο (el) n (tálanto)

  Ancient: τάλαντον n (tálanton)

• Hebrew: כיכר (he) f (kikár)
• Hungarian: talentum (hu)
• Icelandic: talenta f
• Italian: talento (it) m
• Korean: 달란트 (dallanteu)
• Latin: tălentum
• Latvian: talants m
• Lithuanian: talantas m
• Maori: taranata
• Middle English: talent
• Persian: تالان (fa) (tâlân), تالنت (tâlent)
• Portuguese: talento (pt) m
• Russian: тала́нт (ru) m (talánt)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: та̀лент m

  Roman: tàlent (sh) m

• Slovene: talènt m
• Spanish: talento (es) m
• Swahili: talanta (sw)
• Swedish: talent (sv) c
• Telugu: తూనిక విశేషము (tūnika viśēṣamu)
• Ugaritic: 𐎋𐎋𐎗 (kkr)
• Ukrainian: тала́нт m (talánt)

people of talent collectively

• Icelandic: hæfileikafólk n
• Italian: talenti (it) m pl
• Spanish: talentosos (es) m pl
• Tagalog: katalihiligan
• Telugu: ధీశక్తి (dhīśakti)

talented person

• Albanian: me Dhunti (sq)
• Bulgarian: талантлив човек m (talantliv čovek)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 人才 (zh) (réncái)

• Danish: talent n
• Esperanto: talentulo sg, talentuloj pl
• Estonian: talent (et)
• Finnish: kyky (fi), lahjakkuus (fi)
• French: talent (fr) m
• Georgian: ნიჭიერი ადამიანი (nič̣ieri adamiani)
• Greek: ταλαντούχος (el) m (talantoúchos)
• Hungarian: tehetség (hu)
• Icelandic: hæfileikamaður m
• Italian: talento (it) m
• Latvian: talants m
• Maori: iho pūmanawa
• Portuguese: talento (pt) m
• Romanian: talent (ro) n
• Russian: тала́нт (ru) m (talánt)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: та̀лент m

  Roman: tàlent (sh) m

• Sicilian: spertu m, sperta f
• Spanish: talentoso (es) m
• Swedish: talang (sv) c
• Tagalog: may talihilig
• Telugu: ప్రతిభ (te) (pratibha), బుద్ధిశక్తి (buddhiśakti)
• Ukrainian: тала́нт m (talánt)
• Yiddish: טאַלענט m (talent)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} bakat (id)

Further reading

• “talent”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “talent”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Anagrams

• antlet, latent, latten

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin talentum, from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [təˈlen]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [təˈlent]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [taˈlent]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

talent m (plural talents)

1. talent (Greek money)
2. talent (skill)

Derived terms

• atalentat
• talentós

Noun

talent f (plural talents)

1. appetite, hunger

   Synonym: gana

Further reading

• “talent”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin talentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtalɛnt]

Noun

talent m inan

1. talent (unit of weight)
2. talent (actual or potential ability)

   Synonym: nadání n

Declension

Declension of talent (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	talent	talenty
genitive	talentu	talentů
dative	talentu	talentům
accusative	talent	talenty
vocative	talente	talenty
locative	talentu	talentech
instrumental	talentem	talenty

Related terms

• talentovaný

Further reading

• “talent”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “talent”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “talent”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Danish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Talent (“talent”), from Latin talentum, from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton, “balance, a particular weight, especially of gold, sum of money, a talent”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /talɛnt/, [taˈlɛnˀd̥]

Noun

talent n (singular definite talentet, plural indefinite talenter)

1. talent (potential or factual ability to perform a skill better than most people)

Inflection

Declension of talent

neuter gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	talent	talentet	talenter	talenterne
genitive	talents	talentets	talenters	talenternes

See also

• talent on the Danish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^da

Etymology 2

From Latin talentum, from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton, “balance, a particular weight, especially of gold, sum of money, a talent”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /talɛnt/, [taˈlɛnˀd̥]

Noun

talent c (singular definite talenten, plural indefinite talenter)

1. talent (unit of weight and money)

Inflection

Declension of talent

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	talent	talenten	talenter	talenterne
genitive	talents	talentens	talenters	talenternes

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch talent, from Old French talent, from Latin talentum, from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton, “a particular weight, balance”), from Proto-Indo-European *tl̥h₂ent-, from *telh₂-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taːˈlɛnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ta‧lent
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

Noun

talent n (plural talenten, diminutive talentje n)

1. talent (gift, quality, capability)
2. (historical) talent (ancient weight, value of money or coin)

Derived terms

• met zijn talenten woekeren
• natuurtalent
• talentenjacht
• talentvol

Descendants

• Afrikaans: talent
• → Indonesian: talen

Anagrams

• latten

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin talentum (“a Grecian weight; a talent of money”), itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton, “balance; a particular weight, especially of gold; sum of money; a talent”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ta.lɑ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

  (file)

Noun

talent m (plural talents)

1. (historical, Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece) a talent (an obsolete unit of weight or money)
2. a talent, a gift, a knack

Derived terms

• talentueux

Further reading

• “talent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• latent

Middle English

Alternative forms

• taland, talande, talant, talente (all rare)

Etymology

From Old French talent and Old English talente, both from Latin talentum, from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taˈlɛnt/, /ˈtalɛnt/

Noun

talent (plural talentes or talens)

1. A talent (ancient unit of money or weight)
2. Will, inclination, or desire.
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter XX, in Le Morte Darthur, book X:

     But my hede said sir Palomydes I wille not ryde these thre dayes / […] / Truly said sir Lamorak / and I wille abyde here with you / And whan ye ryde / thenne wille I ryde / […] / therfor I pray you syr Dynadan abyde and ryde with vs / Feythfully said Dynadan I wylle not abyde for I haue suche a talent to see sir Tristram that I may not abyde longe from hym

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. A base inclination or urge (especially lustful or for food)
4. An emotion or feeling (especially positive or affectionate)
5. A purpose; a plan or idea serving one.
6. (rare) Capacity, character, or nature.
7. (rare) A talent (ability, skill).

Related terms

• maltalent

Descendants

• English: talent
• Scots: talent

References

• “talent, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin talentum.

Noun

talent n (definite singular talentet, indefinite plural talent or talenter, definite plural talenta or talentene)

1. (a) talent

Derived terms

• talentfull

References

• “talent” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Medieval Latin talentum.

Noun

talent n (definite singular talentet, indefinite plural talent, definite plural talenta)

1. (a) talent

Derived terms

• talentfull

References

• “talent” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Occitan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin talentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taˈlen/

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

Noun

talent m (plural talents)

1. talent (skill)

Derived terms

• talentós

Noun

talent m or f (plural talents)

1. appetite, hunger

   Synonym: fam

Derived terms

• atalentar

Old French

Alternative forms

• talant

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin talentum (“a Grecian weight; a talent of money”), from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton, “balance; a particular weight, especially of gold; sum of money; a talent”).

Noun

talent oblique singular, m (oblique plural talenz or talentz, nominative singular talenz or talentz, nominative plural talent)

1. desire; wish (to do something)

Descendants

• Middle English: talent, taland, talande, talant, talente (in part)
  • English: talent
  • Scots: talent

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin talentum, from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton), from Proto-Indo-European *tl̥h₂ent-, from *telh₂-

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈta.lɛnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alɛnt
• Syllabification: ta‧lent

Noun

talent m inan (diminutive talencik)

1. talent, gift

   Antonym: antytalent

Declension

Declension of talent

	singular	plural
nominative	talent	talenty
genitive	talentu	talentów
dative	talentowi	talentom
accusative	talent	talenty
instrumental	talentem	talentami
locative	talencie	talentach
vocative	talencie	talenty

Noun

talent m animal

1. (historical) talent (ancient unit of weight and money)

Declension

Declension of talent

	singular	plural
nominative	talent	talenty
genitive	talenta	talentów
dative	talentowi	talentom
accusative	talenta	talenty
instrumental	talentem	talentami
locative	talencie	talentach
vocative	talencie	talenty

Noun

talent m pers (diminutive talencik)

1. (metonymic) talented person

   Antonym: antytalent

Declension

Declension of talent

	singular	plural
nominative	talent	talenty
genitive	talenta	talentów
dative	talentowi	talentom
accusative	talenta	talenty
instrumental	talentem	talentami
locative	talencie	talentach
vocative	talencie	talenty

Derived terms

adjective

• utalentowany

noun

• antytalent
• beztalencie

Further reading

• talent in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• talent in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French talent.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

talent n (plural talente)

1. talent

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	talent	talentul		talente	talentele
genitive-dative	talent	talentului		talente	talentelor
vocative	talentule			talentelor

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• tàlenat (Bosnia, Serbia)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin talentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tǎlent/
• Hyphenation: ta‧lent

Noun

tàlent m inan or m anim (Cyrillic spelling та̀лент) (Croatia)

1. (inanimate) talent
2. (animate) talented person
3. (historical, inanimate) talent (Ancient Greek and Hebrew unit of weight and money)

Declension

inanimate

Declension of talent

	singular	plural
nominative	tàlent	talenti
genitive	tàlēnta	tàlenātā
dative	talentu	talentima
accusative	talent	talente
vocative	talente	talenti
locative	talentu	talentima
instrumental	talentom	talentima

animate

Declension of talent

	singular	plural
nominative	tàlent	talenti
genitive	tàlēnta	tàlenātā
dative	talentu	talentima
accusative	tàlēnta	talente
vocative	talente	talenti
locative	talentu	talentima
instrumental	talentom	talentima

Welsh

Alternative forms

• talen (colloquial)

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈtalɛnt/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈtaːlɛnt/, /ˈtalɛnt/
• Rhymes: -alɛnt

Etymology 1

talu +‎ -ent

Verb

talent

1. (literary) third-person plural imperfect/conditional of talu

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin talentum.

Noun

talent m or f (plural talentau or talenti or talennau or talents)

1. ability, aptitude
2. talent (“coin”)

Derived terms

• talentog (“talented”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of talent

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
talent	dalent	nhalent	thalent

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “talent”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies