Tell Definition | Definition of Tell at Dictionary.com

tell

1 [tel]

,verb, told, tell⋅ing.

–verb (used with object)

1.	to give an account or narrative of; narrate; relate (a story, tale, etc.): to tell the story of Lincoln's childhood.

2.	to make known by speech or writing (a fact, news, information, etc.); communicate.

3.	to announce or proclaim.

4.	to utter (the truth, a lie, etc.).

5.	to express in words (thoughts, feelings, etc.).

6.	to reveal or divulge (something secret or private).

7.	to say plainly or positively: I cannot tell just what was done.

8.	to discern or recognize (a distant person or thing) so as to be able to identify or describe: Can you tell who that is over there?

9.	to distinguish; discriminate; ascertain: You could hardly tell the difference between them.

10.	to inform (a person) of something: He told me his name.

11.	to assure emphatically: I won't, I tell you!

12.	to bid, order, or command: Tell him to stop.

13.	to mention one after another, as in enumerating; count or set one by one or in exact amount: to tell the cattle in a herd; All told there were 17 if we are correct.

–verb (used without object)

14.	to give an account or report: Tell me about your trip.

15.	to give evidence or be an indication: The ruined temples told of an ancient culture, long since passed from existence.

16.	to disclose something secret or private; inform; tattle: She knows who did it, but she won't tell.

17.	to say positively; determine; predict: Who can tell?

18.	to have force or effect; operate effectively: a contest in which every stroke tells.

19.	to produce a marked or severe effect: The strain was telling on his health.

20.	British Dialect. to talk or chat.

—Verb phrases

21.

tell off,

a.	to separate from the whole and assign to a particular duty.

b.	Informal. to rebuke severely; scold: It was about time that someone told him off.

22.	tell on, to tattle on (someone).

—Idiom

23.	tell it like it is, Informal. to tell the complete, unadulterated truth; be forthright: He may be crude but he tells it like it is.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME tellen, OE tellan to relate, count; c. D tellen to reckon, count, ON telja to count, say, OHG zellēn; akin to tale

Synonyms:
1. recount, describe, report. 2. impart. 4. speak. 6. disclose, betray; acknowledge, own, confess; declare.

tell

2 [tel]

–noun

an artificial mound consisting of the accumulated remains of one or more ancient settlements (often used in Egypt and the Middle East as part of a place name).

Origin:
1860–65; < Ar tall hillock

Tell

[tel]

–noun

Wil⋅helm [vil-helm]

. William Tell.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To tell

tell¹ (těl)

v. told (tōld), tell·ing, tells

v. tr.

To give a detailed account of; narrate: tell what happened; told us a story.
To communicate by speech or writing; express with words: tell the truth; tell one's love.
To make known; reveal: tell a secret; tell fortunes.
To notify; inform.
To inform positively; assure: I tell you, the plan will work.
To give instructions to; direct: told the customers to wait in line.
To discover by observation; discern: could tell that he was upset.
To name or number one by one; count: telling one's blessings; 16 windows, all told.

v. intr.

To give an account or revelation: is prepared to break silence and tell.
To give evidence; inform: promised not to tell on her friend.
To have an effect or impact: In this game every move tells.

Phrasal Verb(s):
tell off Informal To rebuke severely; reprimand.

[Middle English tellen, from Old English tellan; see del-² in Indo-European roots.]
tell'a·ble adj.

tell² (těl)

n. A mound, especially in the Middle East, made up of the remains of a succession of previous settlements.

[Arabic tall; see tll in Semitic roots.]

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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Tell

Tell\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Told; p. pr. & vb. n. Telling.] [AS. tellan, from talu tale, number, speech; akin to D. tellen to count, G. z["a]hlen, OHG. zellen to count, tell, say, Icel. telja, Dan. tale to speak, t[ae]lle to count. See Tale that which is told.]

1. To mention one by one, or piece by piece; to recount; to enumerate; to reckon; to number; to count; as, to tell money. "An heap of coin he told." --Spenser.

He telleth the number of the stars. --Ps. cxlvii. 4.

Tell the joints of the body. --Jer. Taylor.

2. To utter or recite in detail; to give an account of; to narrate.

Of which I shall tell all the array. --Chaucer.

And not a man appears to tell their fate. --Pope.

3. To make known; to publish; to disclose; to divulge.

Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? --Gen. xii. 18.

4. To give instruction to; to make report to; to acquaint; to teach; to inform.

A secret pilgrimage, That you to-day promised to tell me of? --Shak.

5. To order; to request; to command.

He told her not to be frightened. --Dickens.

6. To discern so as to report; to ascertain by observing; to find out; to discover; as, I can not tell where one color ends and the other begins.

7. To make account of; to regard; to reckon; to value; to estimate. [Obs.]

I ne told no dainity of her love. --Chaucer.

Note: Tell, though equivalent in some respect to speak and say, has not always the same application. We say, to tell truth or falsehood, to tell a number, to tell the reasons, to tell something or nothing; but we never say, to tell a speech, discourse, or oration, or to tell an argument or a lesson. It is much used in commands; as, tell me the whole story; tell me all you know.

To tell off, to count; to divide. --Sir W. Scott.

Syn: To communicate; impart; reveal; disclose; inform; acquaint; report; repeat; rehearse; recite.

Tell

Tell\, v. i. 1. To give an account; to make report.

That I may publish with the voice of thankgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. --Ps. xxvi. 7.

2. To take effect; to produce a marked effect; as, every shot tells; every expression tells.

To tell of. (a) To speak of; to mention; to narrate or describe. (b) To inform against; to disclose some fault of.

To tell on, to inform against. [Archaic & Colloq.]

Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David. --1 Sam. xxvii. 11.

Tell

Tell\, n. That which is told; tale; account. [R.]

I am at the end of my tell. --Walpole.

Tell

Tell\, n. [Ar.] A hill or mound. --W. M. Thomson.

Language Translation for : tell

Spanish: contar,

German: erzählen,

Japanese: 話す

More Translations »

tell (v.)

O.E. tellan "to reckon, calculate, consider, account," from P.Gmc. *taljanan "to mention in order" (cf. O.S. tellian, O.N. telja, O.Fris. tella "to count, tell," Du. tellen "to count, reckon," O.S. talon "to count, reckon," Dan. tale "to speak," O.H.G. zalon, Ger. zählen "to count, reckon"), from base *talo (see tale). Meaning "to narrate, relate" is from c.1000; that of "to make known by speech or writing, announce" is from c.1122. Sense of "to reveal or disclose" is from c.1400; that of "to act as an informer, to 'peach' " is recorded from 1901. Meaning "to order (someone to do something)" is from 1599. Original sense in teller and phrase to tell time. For sense evolution, cf. Fr. conter "to count," raconter "to recount;" It. contare, Sp. contar "to count, recount, narrate;" Ger. zählen "to count," erzählen "to recount, narrate."

"I tolde hyme so, & euer he seyde nay." [Thomas Hoccleve, "The Regiment of Princes," c.1412]

Telling "having effect or force" is from 1852.

tell (n.)

"mound, hill," 1864, from Arabic tall, related to Heb. tel "mount, hill, heap."

tell

In addition to the idioms beginning with tell, also see do tell; kiss and tell; show and tell; something tells me; there's no telling; thing or two, tell a; time will tell; which is which, tell; you never can tell; you're telling me. Also see under told.

tell

("hill" or "small elevation"), in Middle Eastern archaeology, a raised mound marking the site of an ancient city. For specific sites, see under substantive word (e.g., Hasi, Tel)

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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