talent

talent
/tal"euhnt/, n.
1. a special natural ability or aptitude: a talent for drawing.
2. a capacity for achievement or success; ability: young men of talent.
3. a talented person: The cast includes many of the theater's major talents.
4. a group of persons with special ability: an exhibition of watercolors by the local talent.
5. Motion Pictures and Television. professional actors collectively, esp. star performers.
6. a power of mind or body considered as given to a person for use and improvement: so called from the parable in Matt. 25:14-30.
7. any of various ancient units of weight, as a unit of Palestine and Syria equal to 3000 shekels, or a unit of Greece equal to 6000 drachmas.
8. any of various ancient Hebrew or Attic monetary units equal in value to that of a talent weight of gold, silver, or other metal.
9. Obs. inclination or disposition.
[bef. 900; ME, OE talente < L talenta, pl. of talentum < Gk tálanton balance, weight, monetary unit]
Syn. 1. capability, gift, genius. See ability.

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▪ unit of weight
      unit of weight used by many ancient civilizations, such as the Hebrews, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. The weight of a talent and its relationship to its major subdivision, the mina, varied considerably over time and location in the ancient world. The most common ratio of the talent to the mina was probably 1:60.

      The Hebrew talent, or kikkār, probably of Babylonian origin, was the basic unit of weight among the ancient Hebrews. In the sacred system of weights, the Talmudic talent was equal to 60 Talmudic minas.

      The talent was also an important unit of weight among the Greeks, who undoubtedly borrowed it from eastern neighbours. The Attic talent, which equaled 60 Attic minas, is estimated to have weighed about 56.9 pounds (25.8 kg). It was certainly smaller than the Hebrew talent.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Talent — Talent …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • talent — [ talɑ̃ ] n. m. • talant « état d esprit » 980; lat. talentum, gr. talanton « plateau de balance » I ♦ (1170) Antiq. Poids de 20 à 27 kg, dans la Grèce antique. ♢ Par ext. Monnaie de compte équivalant à un talent d or ou d argent. La parabole des …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Talent — may refer to: *Talent, a personal gift/skill *A show business personality or group of them *Tarento, the Japanese pronunciation of the word; a variety entertainment personality in Japan *Talent agent, a person who finds jobs for actors, musicians …   Wikipedia

  • talent — TALÉNT, talente, s.n. Aptitudine, înclinare înnăscută într un anumit domeniu; capacitate deosebită, înnăscută sau dobândită, într o ramură de activitate, care favorizează o activitate creatoare. ♢ loc. adj. De talent = talentat. ♦ Persoană… …   Dicționar Român

  • talent — TALENT. s. m. Certaine quantité, certain poids d or ou d argent, qui estoit different selon les differents pays où l on s en servoit anciennement. Talent Attique. talent Babylonien. talent d or. talent d argent. grand talent. petit talent. il mit …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Talent — steht für: eine antike Währungs und Gewichtseinheit, siehe Talent (Währung) im übertragenen Sinn eine überdurchschnittliche Begabung einen Fluss in der Schweiz, siehe Talent (Fluss) zwei Eisenbahn Triebwagen für den Nahverkehr, siehe Bombardier… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • talent — I {{/stl 13}}{{stl 8}}rz. mnż I, D. u, Mc. talentncie {{/stl 8}}{{stl 20}} {{/stl 20}}{{stl 12}}1. {{/stl 12}}{{stl 7}} szczególne, wybitne uzdolnienie w jakimś kierunku, predyspozycje, zdolności : {{/stl 7}}{{stl 10}}Talent artystyczny, malarski …   Langenscheidt Polski wyjaśnień

  • talent — UK US /ˈtælənt/ noun [C or U] ► a natural skill or ability: »The successful candidate will have both talent and drive. »The company benefited from her expertise and talents in sales. a talent for sth »He had a great talent for business. ► HR a… …   Financial and business terms

  • Talent — Sn std. (17. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus frz. talent m., dieses aus l. talentum, das wie gr. tálanton eine Gewichtseinheit bezeichnet, eigentlich Waage , zu gr. tlẽnai aufheben, tragen, wägen (dulden). (Eine frühere, vereinzelte Entlehnung… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • talent — [tal′ənt] n. [ME < OE talente < L talentum, a coin, orig., unit of weight < Gr talanton, a unit of money, weight, orig., a balance < IE base * tel , to lift up, weigh, bear > TOLERATE: senses 2 4 from the parable of the talents… …   English World dictionary

  • Talent — Tal ent, n. [F., fr. L. talentum a talent (in sense 1), Gr. ? a balance, anything weighed, a definite weight, a talent; akin to ? to bear, endure, ?, L. tolerare, tollere, to lift up, sustain, endure. See {Thole}, v. t., {Tolerate}.] 1. Among the …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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