medal

A2 Topic:Materials & Substances

US /ˈmɛdəl/ UK [ˈmɛd.ɫ̩] See IPA manual

Homophones

meddle /ˈmɛd.əl/

Freq #4692

Meanings

1

noun
A flat metal disc given as a prize or award, often for winning a sporting event.

She won a gold medal at the Olympics.
2

verb
To win a medal in a competition.

He medalled twice at the championships this year.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a flat metal disc given as... decoration

Word family

Forms medals

Derived forms bemedalmedalistmedalless

Related forms finalmedaletmedallicmedallionmedallistmedallurgypodium

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

gold medal
a gold-colored award usually given to the winner of a competition

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Medal comes from medieval Latin medalia, meaning “half a denarius.” Because a coin and an award medal were similar in appearance, the monetary term developed its later sense.

Etymology

From Middle English [Term?], from Middle French medaille, medale, from Italian medaglia (originally "half a denarius"), from Early Medieval Latin medālia, feminine derived via dissimilation (/dj–lj/ > /d–lj/) from mediālia, neuter plural of Late Latin mediālis (“middle”, adjective), from Classical Latin medius.

medaille Middle French medaglia Italian medālia la-eme mediālis la-lat medius Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Materials & Substances

External links

# medal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈmɛdəl/
**IPA (UK):** [ˈmɛd.ɫ̩]
**Frequency rank:** 4692

## Meanings
1. A flat metal disc given as a prize or award, often for winning a sporting event.
2. To win a medal in a competition.

## Examples
- She won a gold medal at the Olympics.
- He medalled twice at the championships this year.

## Derived Forms
- bemedal
- medalist
- medalless

## Related Forms
- final
- medalet
- medallic
- medallion
- medallist
- medallurgy
- podium

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: medaille
- Root: medaglia
- Root: medālia
- Root: mediālis
- Root: medius

## Etymology
From Middle English [Term?], from Middle French medaille, medale, from Italian medaglia (originally "half a denarius"), from Early Medieval Latin medālia, feminine derived via dissimilation (/dj–lj/ > /d–lj/) from mediālia, neuter plural of Late Latin mediālis (“middle”, adjective), from Classical Latin medius.

## AI Etymology
Medal comes from Middle English an Old French form, from Middle French medaille, medale, from Italian medaglia (originally "half a denarius"), from Early Medieval Latin medālia, feminine derived via dissimilation (/dj–lj/ > /d–lj/) from mediālia, neuter plural of Late Latin mediālis (“middle”, adjective), from Classical Latin medius. In present-day English its meanings include a flat metal disc given as a prize or award, often for winning a sporting event and to win a medal in a competition. The historical chain runs through medaille (Middle French), medaglia (Italian), medālia (Early Medieval Latin), mediālis (Late Latin), and medius (la-cla). Related and derived forms include final, medalet, medallic, and bemedal.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances

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