Etymology

medal

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Today it means: A stamped metal disc used as a personal ornament, a charm, or a religious object. Full definition →

Middle English [Term?] ← Middle French medaille ← Italian medaglia
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medal · noun, verb1

  1. Classical Latin · derived frommedius
  2. Late Latin · derived frommediālis“middle”
  3. Early Medieval Latin · derived frommedālia
  4. Italian · derived frommedaglia
  5. Middle French · derived frommedaille
  6. Middle English · inherited from[Term?]
  7. English todaymedal

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.

Medal · proper noun2

  1. Spanish · borrowed fromMedal
  2. English todayMedal

Borrowed from Spanish Medal, itself a surname of Galician origin. This surname is predominantly found in Nicaragua.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.