Today we’re looking at the feminine noun la médaille, which translates to medal. For the pronunciation, the LL sounds like “eye” with a slight Y sound.
la médaille – [medaj]
medal
Word origin
Both the Modern French feminine noun médaille and English medal word come from medalia in medieval Latin. The meaning of medalia was “half a denarius” or half a Roman silver coin.
Example sentences
This first example sentence uses combien de + noun, which means “how many”.
Combien de médailles est-ce que la France a gagné aux Jeux olypiques?
How many medals did France win in the Olympic Games?
This second example sentence uses the impersonal expression il existe, which translates to there is, there are and there exists.
Il existe trois types de medailles: l’or, l’argent et le bronze.
There are three types of medals: Gold, silver and bronze.
This final example sentence uses the verb remporter (to take back, to win), which is synonymous gagner (to win) in the context of winning medals, awards, prizes, etc.
Léon Marchand a remporté la medaille d’or aux Jeux olympiques de Paris.
Léon Marchand won the gold medal in the Paris olympic games.
Related lessons
Resources
Word of the Day lessons | Lessons by David Issokson
