n. [ AS. talu number, speech, narrative; akin to D. taal speech, language, G. zahl number, OHG. zala, Icel. tal, tala, number, speech, Sw. tal, Dan. tal number, tale speech, Goth. talzjan to instruct. Cf. Tell, v. t., Toll a tax, also Talk, v. i. ] 1. That which is told; an oral relation or recital; any rehearsal of what has occured; narrative; discourse; statement; history; story. “The tale of Troy divine.” Milton. “In such manner rime is Dante's tale.” Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

We spend our years as a tale that is told. Ps. xc. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A number told or counted off; a reckoning by count; an enumeration; a count, in distinction from measure or weight; a number reckoned or stated. [ 1913 Webster ]

The ignorant, . . . who measure by tale, and not by weight. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

And every shepherd tells his tale,
Under the hawthorn in the dale. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

In packing, they keep a just tale of the number. Carew. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) A count or declaration. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

To tell tale of, to make account of. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Therefore little tale hath he told
Of any dream, so holy was his heart. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Anecdote; story; fable; incident; memoir; relation; account; legend; narrative. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Tael. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To tell stories. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. Gower. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who officiously tells tales; one who impertinently or maliciously communicates intelligence, scandal, etc., and makes mischief. [ 1913 Webster ]

Spies and talebearers, encouraged by her father, did their best to inflame her resentment. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Telling tales officiously. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of informing officiously; communication of secrets, scandal, etc., maliciously. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Jewish Antiq.) A kind of quadrangular piece of cloth put on by the Jews when repeating prayers in the synagogues. Crabb. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Full of stories. [ R. ] Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖prop. n. [ NL. ] (Zool.) A genus of Australian birds which includes the brush turkey. See Brush turkey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. L. talentum a talent (in sense 1), Gr. ta`lanton a balance, anything weighed, a definite weight, a talent; akin to tlh^nai to bear, endure, tolma^n, L. tolerare, tollere, to lift up, sustain, endure. See Thole, v. t., Tolerate. ] 1. Among the ancient Greeks, a weight and a denomination of money equal to 60 minae or 6, 000 drachmae. The Attic talent, as a weight, was about 57 lbs. avoirdupois; as a denomination of silver money, its value was £243 15s. sterling, or about $1, 180 (using 1900 values). [ 1913 Webster ]

Rowing vessel whose burden does not exceed five hundred talents. Jowett (Thucid.). [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Among the Hebrews, a weight and denomination of money. For silver it was equivalent to 3, 000 shekels, and in weight was equal to about 933/4 lbs. avoirdupois; as a denomination of silver, it has been variously estimated at from £340 to £396 sterling, or about $1, 645 to $1, 916 (ca. 1900). For gold it was equal to 10, 000 gold shekels. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Inclination; will; disposition; desire. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

They rather counseled you to your talent than to your profit. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Intellectual ability, natural or acquired; mental endowment or capacity; skill in accomplishing; a special gift, particularly in business, art, or the like; faculty; a use of the word probably originating in the Scripture parable of the talents (Matt. xxv. 14-30). [ 1913 Webster ]

He is chiefly to be considered in his three different talents, as a critic, a satirist, and a writer of odes. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

His talents, his accomplishments, his graceful manners, made him generally popular. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Ability; faculty; gift; endowment. See Genius. [ 1913 Webster ]