tell /ˈtɛl/
 (vt.)說,講述,告訴;吩咐,命令;辨別,分辨(vi.)講述;確定地說出來;洩密


 tell
 *


 Tell v. t. [imp. & p. p. Told p. pr. & vb. n. Telling.]
 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.”
    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, 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, n. That which is told; tale; account. [R.]
    I am at the end of my tell.   --Walpole.


 Tell, n.  A hill or mound.

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 Tell
      n : 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) [syn: William Tell]
      v 1: express in words; "He said that he wanted to marry her";
           "tell me what is bothering you"; "state your opinion";
           "state your name" [syn: state, say]
      2: let something be known; "Tell them that you will be late"
      3: narrate or give a detailed account of; "Tell what happened";
         "The father told a story to his child" [syn: narrate, recount,
          recite]
      4: give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with
         authority; "I said to him to go home"; "She ordered him to
         do the shopping"; "The mother told the child to get
         dressed" [syn: order, enjoin, say]
      5: discern or comprehend; "He could tell that she was unhappy"
      6: inform positively and with certainty and confidence; "I tell
         you that man is a crook!" [syn: assure]
      7: give evidence; "he was telling on all his former colleague"
         [syn: evidence]
      8: mark as different; "We distinguish several kinds of maple"
         [syn: distinguish, separate, differentiate, secern,
          secernate, severalize, severalise, tell apart]