Medal
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A stamped metal disc used as a personal ornament, a charm, or a religious object.
"Whether their images, shrines, relics, consecrated things, holy water, medals, benedictions, those divine amulets, holy exorcisms, and the sign of the cross, be available in this disease?"
- 2 an award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event wordnet
- 3 A stamped or cast metal object (usually a disc), particularly one awarded as a prize or reward.
- 1 To win a medal. colloquial, intransitive
"He medalled twice at the Olympics."
- 2 To award a medal to. transitive
- 1 A surname from Spanish [in turn from Galician].
Example
More examples"The committee bestowed a medal on him."
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.
Borrowed from Spanish Medal, itself a surname of Galician origin. This surname is predominantly found in Nicaragua.
Related phrases
More for "medal"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.