med·al 
(mĕdl)
(mĕdl)n.
1. A flat piece of metal stamped with a design or an inscription commemorating an event or a person, often given as an award.
2. A piece of metal stamped with a religious device, used as an object of veneration or commemoration.
v. med·aled, med·al·ing, med·als also med·alled or med·al·ling
Informal
Informal
v.intr.
To win a medal, as in a sports contest: "We were the first Americans to medal" (Jill Watson).
v.tr.
To award a medal to.
[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.]
me·dallic (mə-dălĭk) adj.