talent

noun

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. Movies and Television. professional actors collectively, especially 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. Obsolete. inclination or disposition.

noun

1. innate ability, aptitude, or faculty, esp when unspecified; above average abilitya talent for cooking; a child with talent
2. a person or persons possessing such ability
3. any of various ancient units of weight and money
4. informal members of the opposite sex collectively, esp those living in a particular placethe local talent
5. an obsolete word for inclination

n.late 13c., “inclination, disposition, will, desire,” from Old French talent, from Medieval Latin talenta, plural of talentum “inclination, leaning, will, desire” (1098), in classical Latin “balance, weight, sum of money,” from Greek talanton “balance, weight, sum,” from PIE *tel-, *tol- “to bear, carry” (see extol). Originally an ancient unit of weight or money (varying greatly and attested in Old English as talente), the Medieval Latin and common Romanic sense developed from figurative use of the word in the sense of “money.” Meaning “special natural ability, aptitude,” developed mid-14c., from the parable of the talents in Matt. xxv:14-30. Related: Talented.