tale Hear it!

tale definition

tale (tāl)

noun

  1. something told or related; relation or recital of happenings
    1. a story or account of true, legendary, or fictitious events; narrative
    2. a literary composition in narrative form
  3. a piece of gossip
  4. a falsehood; lie
  5. Archaic a tally; count
  6. Obsolete the act of telling

Etymology: ME < OE talu, speech, number, akin to Ger zahl, number, Du taal, speech < IE base *del-, to aim, reckon, trick > Gr dolos, L dolus, guile, artifice

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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