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Telltale

 - 3 dictionary results

tell⋅tale

  [tel-teyl]
Use Telltale in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person who heedlessly or maliciously reveals private or confidential matters; tattler; talebearer.
2. a thing serving to reveal or disclose something.
3. any of various indicating or registering devices, as a time clock.
4. Music. a gauge on an organ for indicating the air pressure.
5. an indicator showing the position of a ship's rudder.
6. a row of strips hung over a track to warn train crew members on freight trains that a low bridge, tunnel, or the like is approaching.
7. Yachting. (on a sailboat) a feather, string, or similar device, often attached to the port and starboard shrouds and to the backstay, to indicate the relative direction of the wind.
8. Squash. a narrow piece of metal across the front wall of a court, parallel to and extending 17 inches (43.2 cm) above the base: a ball striking this is an out.
–adjective
9. that reveals or betrays what is not intended to be known: a telltale blush.
10. giving notice or warning of something, as a mechanical device.
Origin:
1540–50; tell 1 + tale

Related forms:
telltalely, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Telltale
tell·tale   (těl'tāl')   
n.  

  1. One who informs on another; a talebearer.

  2. Something that indicates or reveals information; a sign.

  3. Any of various devices that indicate or register information, especially:

    1. A time clock.

    2. Nautical One of the brightly colored lengths of yarn or ribbon attached to the shrouds, stays, or sails of a sailboat, serving to indicate wind direction relative to the boat's motion.

    3. A row of strips hung above a railroad track to warn a passing train of low clearance ahead.

  4. Sports A resonant metal strip, 24 or 30 inches (61 or 76 centimeters) high, across the bottom of the front wall of a racquets or squash court above which the ball must be hit.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

telltale 
1548 (n.), 1594 (adj.), from tell + tale, in phrase to tell a tale "relate a false or exaggerated story" (c.1275).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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