tale

[ teyl ]

SEE DEFINITION OF tale

nounstory
nounmade-up story

Synonyms for tale

MOST RELEVANT

Antonyms for tale

accounts

noun. written description of past events

allegory

noun. indirect representation, storytelling

Word Origin & History

Old English talu "story, tale, the action of telling," from Proto-Germanic *talo (cf. Dutch taal "speech, language"), from PIE root *del- "to recount, count." The secondary English sense of "number, numerical reckoning" (c.1200) probably was the primary one in Germanic; cf. teller (see tell) and Old Frisian tale, Middle Dutch tal "number," Old Saxon tala "number," Old High German zala, German Zahl "number."

The ground sense of the Modern English word in its main meaning, then, might have been "an account of things in their due order." Related to talk and tell. Meaning "things divulged that were given secretly, gossip" is from mid-14c.; first record of talebearer "tattletale" is late 15c.

Example Sentences fortale

To the end of the lives of the spectators, it was a tale of wonder.

His great failing was that he exaggerated--no tale ever losing anything in his charge.

Better live, to write your own tale than be the abject one to another.

Worst of all, almost, Mrs. Baker told the tale of my misdeeds to John.

It was always easy to get them to believe any tale which had gold in it.

On this theme methinks I could frame a tale with a deep moral.

Very early in this tale it was my pride to explain that my mother was a superior woman.

Then in as few words as she could she told their tale, while the queen listened earnestly.

There is yet another object with which I have identified my tale.

This letter has told its tale, and little remains to explain.

tale

accounts

allegory

anecdote

anecdotes

backbiting

tale

More words related to tale

account

accounts

allegory

anecdote

anecdotes

backbiting