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Definition of 'tale'

Word Frequency

tale

(teɪl )

Word forms: plural tales

1. countable noun

A tale is a story, often involving magic or exciting events.

...a collection of stories, poems and folk tales.

...the tales of King Arthur and his Round Table.

Synonyms: story, narrative, anecdote, account More Synonyms of tale

2. countable noun

You can refer to an interesting, exciting, or dramatic account of a real event as a tale.

The media have been filled with tales of horror and loss resulting from Monday's earthquake. [+ of]

He tells me long tales about my mother.

3. See also fairy tale, old wives' tale, tall tale

4.

See live to tell the tale

5.

6. See also tell-tale

More Synonyms of tale

COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

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tale

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Word Frequency

tale in British English

(teɪl )

noun

1.

a report, narrative, or story

2.

one of a group of short stories connected by an overall narrative framework

3.

a.

a malicious or meddlesome rumour or piece of gossip

to bear tales against someone

b.

(in combination)

talebearer

taleteller

4.

a fictitious or false statement

7. tell its own tale

8. archaic

a.

a number; amount

b.

computation or enumeration

9. an obsolete word for talk

Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

Word origin

Old English talu list; related to Old Frisian tele talk, Old Saxon, Old Norse tala talk, number, Old High German zala number

Word Frequency

tale in American English

(teɪl )

noun

1.

something told or related; relation or recital of happenings

2.

a.

a story or account of true, legendary, or fictitious events; narrative

b.

a literary composition in narrative form

3.

a piece of gossip

4.

a falsehood; lie

5. Archaic

6. Obsolete

the act of telling

SIMILAR WORDS: ˈstory

Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Word origin

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

Example sentences including
tale

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…

These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale. Sweet illustrations and cute dogs make for a charming tale for little ones. Sully also has an advantage since it tells the tale of disaster averted. Perhaps it was telling tales of his family that made him more relatable.That old wives' tale about not putting anything smaller than your elbow inside your ear?So the play becomes a fine old-fashioned morality tale about an agonising dilemma.So he heads out there to talk to experts, historians and locals about the tales.This show is ostensibly tales about that, but he has a tendency to wander off down other routes.It is a disturbing, dark tale and perhaps one the victims might have been better left to recover from in peace.A difficult tale, but one that needs to be told and needs to be read.

Show more...

Quotations

And so from hour to hour we ripe and ripe,
And then from hour to hour we rot and rot;
And thereby hangs a taleWilliam ShakespeareAs You Like It

A tale never loses in the telling

More idioms containing
tale

live to tell the tale

something tells its own tale

an old wives' tale

COBUILD Collocations
tale

cautionary tale

Trends of
tale

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In other languages
tale

British English: tale /teɪl/ NOUN

A tale is a story, especially one involving adventure or magic.

...stories, poems and folk tales.

American English: tale
Arabic: حِكَايَة
Brazilian Portuguese: conto
Chinese: 故事
Croatian: priča
Czech: příběh
Danish: fortælling
Dutch: sprookje
European Spanish: cuento
Finnish: tarina
French: récit
German: Erzählung
Greek: μύθος ιστορία
Italian: storia
Japanese: 話
Korean: 이야기
Norwegian: historie
Polish: opowieść
European Portuguese: conto
Romanian: basm
Russian: сказка
Latin American Spanish: cuento
Swedish: berättelse
Thai: เรื่องเล่า
Turkish: masal
Ukrainian: оповідання
Vietnamese: câu chuyện

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Nearby words of
tale

Related terms of
tale

Source

Definition of tale from the Collins English Dictionary

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Feb 06, 2020

Word of the day

korowai

a decorative woven cloak worn by a Māori chief

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Scrabble score
for 'tale':
4

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I gave a theatrical bough and waved. I gave a theatrical bow and waved.

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steal

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