Search results for 'tell':

tell¹/ verb (told , telling) 1 tr & intr to inform or give information to someone in speech or writing. 2 (often tell of something) tr & intr to relate or give an account of something. 3 to command or instruct. 4 to express something in words • tell lies. 5 tr & intr to discover or distinguish • You can tell it by its smell. 6 (usually tell on someone) intrans to give away secrets about them. 7 to make it known or give away. 8 (often tell on someone) intrans said of an ordeal, etc: to have a noticeable effect on them. 9 tr & intr to know or recognize something definitely • I can never tell when he's lying. 10 to assure. 11(usually tell against someone) intrans said of evidence or circumstances, etc: to be unfavourable to a person's case or cause, etc. all told in all; with all taken into account • There were thirty all told. take a telling to do as one is told without having to be asked again. you're telling me! colloq an exclamation of agreement.
ETYMOLOGY: Anglo-Saxon tellan.

tell² or tel noun, archaeol especially in the Middle East: an artificial mound or hill formed from the accumulated remains of former settlements.
ETYMOLOGY: 19c: from Arabic tall hillock.