Tĕll1, v. t.
v. t. [imp. & p. p. TOLD; p. pr. & vb. n. TELL-ING.] [A.-S. telian, tellan, O. Sax. talon, tellian, O. Fries. tallia, tella, Icel. tala, telia, Sw. tala, tälja, Dan. tale, tælle, L. Ger. & D. tellen, vertellen, O. H. Ger. zeljan, zellan, N. H. Ger. zählen, erzählen.]
Sense 1. To mention one by one; to recount; to enumerate; to number; to count; as, to tell money. Tell the joints of thy body. Bp. Taylor.
Sense 2. To utter or recite in detail; to give an account of; to narrate. And not a man appears to tell their fate. Pope.
Sense 3. To make known; to disclose; to publish; to betray. Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Gen. xii. 18.
Sense 4. To give instruction to; to acquaint; to teach; to inform. “Promised to tell me of.” Shak.
Sense 5. To make excuses to. [Obs. and inelegant.] Tush! never tell me. Shak.
Sense 6. To discern so as to report; to ascertain by observing; to find out; to discover; as, the colors are so blended that I can not tell where one ends and the other begins.
Tell, though equivalent, in some respects, 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. Tell me the whole story; tell me all you know, or all that was said. Tell refers to the substance of the communication, while say refers rather, and speak refers only, to the words.
To tell off, to count; to divide. W. Scott.
Synonyms—To communicate; impart; reveal; disclose; inform; acquaint; report; repeat; rehearse; recite.