tale
Americannoun
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a narrative that relates the details of some real or imaginary event, incident, or case; story.
a tale about Lincoln's dog.
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a literary composition having the form of such a narrative.
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a falsehood; lie.
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a rumor or piece of gossip, often malicious or untrue.
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the full number or amount.
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Archaic. enumeration; count.
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Obsolete. talk; discourse.
noun
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a report, narrative, or story
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one of a group of short stories connected by an overall narrative framework
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a malicious or meddlesome rumour or piece of gossip
to bear tales against someone
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( in combination )
talebearer
taleteller
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a fictitious or false statement
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to tell fanciful lies
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to report malicious stories, trivial complaints, etc, esp to someone in authority
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to reveal something important
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to be self-evident
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archaic
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a number; amount
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computation or enumeration
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an obsolete word for talk
Etymology
Origin of tale
before 900; Middle English; Old English talu series, list, narrative, story; cognate with Dutch taal speech, language, German Zahl number, Old Norse tala number, speech. See tell 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Running across 63 episodes, the show tells the tale of a billionaire who falls into a vegetative state after a mysterious car accident.
From BBC
In many ways, “Man on the Run” is the narrative that unites us all — our personal tales of growing up.
From Salon
Both women would prefer to be friends: a tale as old as time.
Instead, it became a cautionary tale about the perils of governing-by-influencer.
From Salon
He lives to tell the harrowing tale—and to remember those who did not make it back to daylight.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
