tell

tell · verb, noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*dol-“calculation, fraud”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*talą
3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*taljaną
4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*talljan
5. Old English · inherited fromtellan“to count, tell”
6. Middle English · inherited fromtellen“to count, tell”
7. English todaytell

From Middle English tellen (“to count, tell”), from Old English tellan (“to count, tell”), from Proto-West Germanic *talljan, from Proto-Germanic *taljaną, *talzijaną (“to count, enumerate”), from Proto-Germanic *talą, *talō (“number, counting”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol- (“calculation, fraud”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian tälle (“to say; tell”), West Frisian telle (“to count”), West Frisian fertelle (“to tell, narrate”), Dutch tellen (“to count”) and Dutch vertellen (“to tell”), Low German tellen (“to count”), German zählen, Faroese telja, Swedish tala (“to speak”). More at tale.

tell · noun²

1. Proto-Semitic · derived from*tall-“hill”
2. Hebrew · derived fromתֵּל“hill”
3. Arabic · derived fromتَلّ“hill, elevation”
4. English todaytell

From Arabic تَلّ (tall, “hill, elevation”) or Hebrew תֵּל (tél, “hill”), from Proto-Semitic *tall- (“hill”).

Words from the same roots