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medal

Syllabification: (med·al)
Pronunciation: /ˈmedl/
Translate medal | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of medal

noun

  • a metal disk with an inscription or design, made to commemorate an event or awarded as a distinction to someone such as a soldier, athlete, or scholar.

verb (medals, medaling, medaled; also chiefly Britishmedals, medalling, medalled)

  • [no object] earn a medal, especially in an athletic contest:Norwegian athletes medaled in 12 of the 14 events
  • [with object] (often as adjective medaled) decorate or honour with a medal:the most medaled swimmer in Olympics history

Derivatives

medallic

Pronunciation: /məˈdalik/
adjective

Origin:

late 16th century: from French médaille, from Italian medaglia, from medieval Latin medalia 'half a denarius', from Latin medialis 'medial'

Do not confuse medal with meddle. Medal means 'a metal disc given as an award' (a gold medal), whereas meddle means 'interfere' (don’t meddle in people’s lives).

medal in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of medal in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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