\Tell\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Told}; 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\, 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. [Ar.]
A hill or mound. --W. M. Thomson.