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"medal" in seven languages

Meaningmedal

Spanish

medalla

/meˈdaʝa/

fem.borrowed · Italian medaglia

French

médaille

/medaj/

fem.borrowed · Italian medaglia

Italian

medaglia

/meˈdaʎʎa/

fem.inherited

Portuguese

medalha

/meˈdaʎɐ/

fem.borrowed · Italian medaglia

Romanian

medalie

/meˈdalie/

fem.borrowed · French médaille, Italian medaglia

Catalan

medalla

/məˈdaʎə/

fem.borrowed · Italian medaglia

English

medal

/ˈmɛdəl/

from Latin/French · French médaille (from Italian medaglia)

English → ItalianmedalmedagliaCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

*METALLEAM‘(coin) of metal (from METALLUM)’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

A medal was first a coin 'of metal': Italian medaglia, with Latin LI turned into gli, spread with Renaissance medal-making. Spanish medalla and French médaille are Italian loans.

English relatives: metal, metallic, medallion

Sound laws at work

L + yod

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In a sentence

  • esGanó una medalla de oro.
  • frElle a gagné une médaille d'or.
  • itHa vinto una medaglia d'oro.
  • ptEla ganhou uma medalha de ouro.
  • roA câștigat o medalie de aur.
  • caVa guanyar una medalla d'or.
  • enShe won a gold medal.

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