tales

[ teylz, tey-leez ]
See synonyms for tales on Thesaurus.com
nounLaw.
  1. (used with a plural verb) persons chosen to serve on the jury when the original panel is insufficiently large: originally selected from among those present in court.

  2. (used with a singular verb) the order or writ summoning such jurors.

Origin of tales

1
1300–50; Middle English <Medieval Latin tālēs (dē circumstantibus) such (of the bystanders)

Words Nearby tales

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tales in a sentence

  • Monsieur,” growls the baron, “stone walls have ears, you say if only they had tongues; what tales these could tell!

    Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
  • He could lie in bed and string himself tales of travel and adventure while Harry was downstairs.

  • He carried tales, told lies, and tried to make trouble, for no reason but to gratify his inclinations.

  • Something I had heard years ago, some old wives' tales about a man's life changing every seven years, kept dinning in my head.

    Uncanny Tales | Various
  • But don't adopt the role of inquisitor—because I'm as good as dead, and dead men tell no tales.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for tales

tales

/ (ˈteɪliːz) /


nounlaw
  1. (functioning as plural) a group of persons summoned from among those present in court or from bystanders to fill vacancies on a jury panel

  2. (functioning as singular) the writ summoning such jurors

Origin of tales

1
C15: from Medieval Latin phrase tālēs dē circumstantibus such men from among the bystanders, from Latin tālis such

Derived forms of tales

  • talesman, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012