I. ˈtel verb
( told ˈtōld ; told ; telling ; tells )
Etymology: Middle English tellan (past tolde, past participle told ), from Old English tellen (past — northern & Midland dialect — talde, past participle — northern & Midland dialect — getald ); akin to Old High German zellen to count, tell (past zalta, past participle gizalt ), Old Norse telja (past talthi, past participle talithr ); causative-denominative from the root of English tale (I)
transitive verb
1. : to mention one by one or piece by piece : count , number , reckon
tell the stars, if thou be able to number them — Gen 15:5 (Authorized Version)
walked round the walls and told the towers — Rose Macaulay
all told there were 27 public schools — C.L.Jones
as
a. : to count in keeping track of decades of rosary prayers — used in the phrase to tell one's beads
b. obsolete : to calculate the total amount or value of
2.
a. : to relate in detail : narrate , recount
one of her recipes … tells how to make maple syrup dumplings — Rose Feld
telling a boastful story — J.V.Allen
dancers told ancient legends with tradition's rhythms and gestures — National Geographic
b. : say , utter
to tell you the truth, I don't really remember — Lenard Kaufman
a man in high position utters an accusation or tells a lie — Gilbert Seldes
give me a chance to tell Kit good-by — Hamilton Basso
3.
a. : to make known : disclose , divulge
tell the news
tell your name
: reveal , manifest
fossils tell much about the past
more than words, his movements, gestures told his evident delight in ballet — Cyril Cusack
followed suit with an ungainly stiffness which told how much at sea he felt — T.B.Costain
b. : to express in words
cannot tell how sorry I am
4.
a. : to give information to : report to : inform
I'll tell him as soon as he comes
tell executives and employees of our policies and plans — Milton Hall
told his listeners about his vacation — Current Biography
b. : to give information on : report
he said all of it in a flat, business voice that told you nothing more or less than the words said — Wirt Williams
no book could really tell you what a hell of a feeling it was — Gwyn Thomas
nobody could tell her anything — Edith Sitwell
the victim's subconscious generally tells him something is wrong as soon as the prowler enters — Rufus Jarman
his eyes told him that the walls were festooned with flowers — T.B.Costain
c. : to inform positively : assure emphatically
he did not do it, I tell you
we are distinctly told that he did not buy it — Douglas Carruthers
5. : order , request , direct
told her to wait
6. : to discern so as to report : ascertain by observing : find out : decide , recognize
how if it is unpublished can you tell that it is a masterpiece — John Barkham
the patrol officer can tell whether things are normal or abnormal — R.L.Anderson
usually one couldn't tell much about the writer from the letter of a not very well-educated woman — Elizabeth Goudge
management can tell , by its own observation, whether a man is capable of leadership — Bruce Payne
intransitive verb
1. : to give an account : make a report
wrote an article telling of his experiences
the twelve contributors tell of modern man — F.E.Hill
2. : to state positively : decide definitely : say
who can tell
you can't tell about drunks — S.H.Holbrook
3. : to act as a talebearer : inform — usually used with on or of
the sister told on him, though he tried to shush her — John Dollard
never told on each other, no matter what happened — C.T.Jackson
I'll get even with you if you ever tell on me — Inside Detective
4. dialect England : talk , chat
5. : to take effect : have a marked effect : be of account
events of the past two or three weeks were beginning to tell on her nerves — Edna Ferber
the influence of the school had begun to tell — Robert Littell
a great many garments of the highest quality and all designed for overseas markets where quality tells — D.E.Keir
the long hours, the close confinement, and the strain of having to stand behind a counter from eight o'clock in the morning till eight o'clock at night was beginning to tell upon her — J.C.Snaith
6. : to serve as evidence or indication : be significant — usu used with of
the calculating look in his eyes that told of his Norman blood — T.B.Costain
the arid sands that tell of desert days will still show angled stones that forgotten winds have carved — W.E.Swinton
7. : to stand forth clearly : become apparent, evident, or known
evidence that you were riding at a race meeting will tell strongly against you in the subsequent police proceedings — Punch
he remains so disfigured that appearances will always tell against him — Dixon Wecter
Synonyms: see count , reveal
II. noun
( -s )
dialect : something that is told : talk , tale , account
have a tell with you — Eden Phillpotts
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Arabic tall
: hill , mound ; specifically : an ancient mound in the Middle East composed of remains of successive settlements — compare tepe