Meaning and Origin
What does the name Tell mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
User Submitted Origins
User Submitted Meanings
- A submission from Nigeria says the name Tell means "Marion" and is of English origin.
- To mention one by one, or piece by piece; to recount; to enumerate; to reckon; to number; to count; as, to tell money."An heap of coin he told." [Spenser.]"He telleth the number of the stars." [Ps. cxlvii. 4.]" Tell the joints of the body." [Jer. Taylor.]
- To utter or recite in detail; to give an account of; to narrate."Of which I shall tell all the array." [Chaucer.]"And not a man appears to tell their fate." [Pope.]
- To make known; to publish; to disclose; to divulge."Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?" [Gen. xii. 18.]
- To give instruction to; to make report to; to acquaint; to teach; to inform."A secret pilgrimage, That you to-day promised to tell me of?" [Shak.]
- To order; to request; to command."He told her not to be frightened." [Dickens.]
- To discern so as to report; to ascertain by observing; to find out; to discover; as, I can not tell where one color ends and the other begins.
- To make account of; to regard; to reckon; to value; to estimate.(Obs)"I ne told no dainity of her love." [Chaucer.]synonyms: To communicate; impart; reveal; disclose; inform; acquaint; report; repeat; rehearse; recite.
Note: ☞ Tell, though equivalent in some respect to speak and say, has not always the same application. We say, to tell truth or falsehood, to tell a number, to tell the reasons, to tell something or nothing; but we never say, to tell a speech, discourse, or oration, or to tell an argument or a lesson. It is much used in commands; as, tell me the whole story; tell me all you know.
Etymology: AS. tellan, from talu tale, number, speech; akin to D. tellen to count, G. zählen, OHG. zellen to count, tell, say, Icel. telja, Dan. tale to speak, tælle to count. See Tale that which is told
- To give an account; to make report."That I may publish with the voice of thankgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works." [Ps. xxvi. 7.]
- To take effect; to produce a marked effect; as, every shot tells; every expression tells ."Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David." [1 Sam. xxvii. 11.]
Etymology: Ar
- A Swiss patriot who lived in the early 14th century and who was renowned for his skill as an archer; 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)
- Mark as different
- Discern or comprehend ("He could tell that she was unhappy")
- Give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority
- Let something be known ("Tell them that you will be late")
- Narrate or give a detailed account of ("Tell what happened")
- Give evidence ("he was telling on all his former colleague")
- Express in words ("tell me what is bothering you")
- Inform positively and with certainty and confidence ("I tell you that man is a crook!")
From Middle English tellen (“to count, tell”), from Old English tellan (“to count, tell”), from Proto-Germanic *taljaną, *talzijaną (“to count, enumerate”), from Proto-Germanic *talą, *talǭ (“number, counting”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol- (“calculation, fraud”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian tälle (“to say; tell”), West Frisian telle (“to count”), West Frisian fertelle (“to tell, narrate”), Dutch tellen (“to count”), Low German tellen (“to count”), German zählen, Faroese telja. More at tale.
- A reflexive, often habitual behavior, especially one occurring in a context that often features attempts at deception by persons under psychological stress (such as a poker game or police interrogation), that reveals information that the person exhibiting the behavior is attempting to withhold.
- (archaic) That which is told; a tale or account.
- (Internet) A private message to an individual in a chat room; a whisper.
From Arabic تَلّ (tall, “hill, elevation”) or Hebrew תֵּל (tél, “hill”), from Proto-Semitic *tall- (“hill”).
- (archaeology) A hill or mound, originally and especially in the Middle East, over or consisting of the ruins of ancient settlements.
tell was also found in the following language(s): Norwegian Bokmål