tell
[tɛl]
vt. 告, , 吩咐, , 道

vi. 讲述, 泄密, 告,



tell
told
[ noun ]

1. 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)

<noun.person>

[ verb ]

1. express in words

<verb.communication> say state
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

<verb.communication>
Tell them that you will be late

3. narrate or give a detailed account of

<verb.communication> narrate recite recount
Tell what happened
The father told a story to his child

4. give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority

<verb.communication> enjoin order say
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

<verb.cognition>
He could tell that she was unhappy

6. inform positively and with certainty and confidence

<verb.communication> assure
I tell you that man is a crook!

7. give evidence

<verb.communication> evidence
he was telling on all his former colleague

8. mark as different

<verb.cognition> differentiate distinguish secern secernate separate severalise severalize tell apart
We distinguish several kinds of maple

Tell \Tell\ (t[e^]l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Told} (t[=o]ld); p.
pr. & vb. n. {Telling}.] [AS. tellan, from talu tale, number,
speech; akin to D. tellen to count, G. z["a]hlen, OHG. zellen
to count, tell, say, Icel. telja, Dan. tale to speak,
t[ae]lle to count. See {Tale} that which is told.]
1. 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.

2. 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.

3. To make known; to publish; to disclose; to divulge.

Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
--Gen. xii.
18.

4. 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.

5. To order; to request; to command.

He told her not to be frightened. --Dickens.

6. 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.

7. To make account of; to regard; to reckon; to value; to
estimate. [Obs.]

I ne told no dainity of her love. --Chaucer.

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.

{To tell off}, to count; to divide. --Sir W. Scott.

Syn: To communicate; impart; reveal; disclose; inform;
acquaint; report; repeat; rehearse; recite.


Tell \Tell\, v. i.
1. 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.

2. To take effect; to produce a marked effect; as, every shot
tells; every expression tells.

{To tell of}.
(a) To speak of; to mention; to narrate or describe.
(b) To inform against; to disclose some fault of.

{To tell on}, to inform against. [Archaic & Colloq.]

Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David.
--1 Sam.
xxvii. 11.


Tell \Tell\, n.
That which is told; tale; account. [R.]

I am at the end of my tell. --Walpole.


Tell \Tell\, n. [Ar.]
A hill or mound. --W. M. Thomson.