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Meaning of tell in English
Pronunciation
/tɛl/
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Verb
tell
Etymology
Old English tellan ‘relate, count, estimate’, of Germanic origin; related to German zählen‘reckon, count’, erzählen‘recount, relate’, also to tale
Definitions
1.
express in words
Examples
« He said that he wanted to marry her »
« tell me what is bothering you »
« state your opinion »
« state your name »
2.
let something be known
Examples
« Tell them that you will be late »
3.
narrate or give a detailed account of
Examples
« Tell what happened »
« The father told a story to his child »
4.
give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority
Examples
« I said to him to go home »
« She ordered him to do the shopping »
« The mother told the child to get dressed »
5.
discern or comprehend
Examples
« He could tell that she was unhappy »
6.
inform positively and with certainty and confidence
Examples
« I tell you that man is a crook! »
7.
give evidence
Examples
« he was telling on all his former colleague »
8.
mark as different
Examples
« We distinguish several kinds of maple »
Noun
Tell
Etymology
mid 19th century: from Arabic tall‘hillock’
Definitions
1.
a Swiss patriot who lived in the early 14th century and who was renowned for his skill as an archer
Examples
« according to legend an Austrian governor compelled him to shoot an apple from his son's head with his crossbow (which he did successfully without mishap) »