Rowing vessel whose burden does not exceed five
hundred talents. --Jowett
(Thucid.).
2. Among the Hebrews, a weight and denomination of money. For
silver it was equivalent to 3,000 shekels, and in weight
was equal to about 93? lbs. avoirdupois; as a denomination
of silver, it has been variously estimated at from
[pounds]340 to [pounds]396 sterling, or about $1,645 to
$1,916. For gold it was equal to 10,000 gold shekels.
3. Inclination; will; disposition; desire. [Obs.]
They rather counseled you to your talent than to
your profit. --Chaucer.
4. Intellectual ability, natural or acquired; mental
endowment or capacity; skill in accomplishing; a special
gift, particularly in business, art, or the like; faculty;
a use of the word probably originating in the Scripture
parable of the talents (--Matt. xxv. 14-30).
He is chiefly to be considered in his three
different talents, as a critic, a satirist, and a
writer of odes. --Dryden.
His talents, his accomplishments, his graceful
manners, made him generally popular. --Macaulay.
Syn: Ability; faculty; gift; endowment. See {Genius}.