A person who has won a medal, especially in sports competitions like the Olympics.
From the noun 'medal' (from Italian 'medaglia') plus the agent suffix '-ist', meaning one who does or receives something. The term became common in the 19th century with the rise of organized sporting competitions. It specifically describes someone honored with an award medal.
The word 'medalist' is relatively new—before the 1800s when organized sports created medal ceremonies, you wouldn't have needed a word for medal-winners because they barely existed!
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