Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A flat piece of metal stamped with a design or an inscription commemorating an event or a person, often given as an award.
  • noun A piece of metal stamped with a religious device, used as an object of veneration or commemoration.
  • intransitive verb To win a medal, as in a sports contest.
  • intransitive verb To award a medal to.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A piece of metal, usually circular in form, bearing devices (types) and inscriptions, struck or cast to commemorate a person, an institution, or an event, and distinguished from a coin by not being intended to serve as a medium of exchange.
  • To decorate with a medal; confer a medal upon; present with a medal as a mark of honor.
  • noun A small metal badge, usually with a ribbon attached, presented for distinguished service.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A piece of metal in the form of a coin, struck with a device, and intended to preserve the remembrance of a notable event or an illustrious person, or to serve as a reward.
  • transitive verb To honor or reward with a medal.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A stamped metal disc used as a personal ornament, a charm, or a religious object.
  • noun A stamped or cast metal object (usually a disc), particularly one awarded as a prize or reward.
  • verb sports To win a medal.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French médaille, from Old French, from Italian medaglia, coin worth half a denarius, medal, from Vulgar Latin *medālia, coins worth half a denarius, from Late Latin mediālia, little halves, from neuter pl. of mediālis, of the middle, medial; see medial.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French medaille, medale, from Italian medaglia, from Late Latin medalia ("half a denarius").

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