▪ I. tale, n.
(teɪl)
Forms: 1 talu, infl. tale, 2– tale; also 3–5 talle, 3–6 tayle, 4 tayl, taal(e, 4–5 taille, 4–7 tail, 5 tayll(e, 5–6 taill, taile (6 tell(e), 6–9 dial. teale. β. 1–2, 4 tal, 4 tall.
[OE. talu, infl. tale, = OFris. tale, OS. tala, MDu., MLG. tāle, Du. taal speech, LG. tāl, OHG. zala, MHG. zal, Ger. zahl number, ON. tala talk, speech, tale, number, Da. tale speech, discourse; all:—OTeut. *talā strong fem., from verbal stem tal-, in taljan, to mention things in their natural or due order, to relate, enumerate, reckon: see tell v. The ONorthumb. tal and early ME. tal, tall in sense 6, may represent the ON. tal neut. (Sw. tal speech, number, Da. tal number), or the OE. ᵹetæl reckoning, number.]
I. † 1. a. The action of telling, relating, or saying; discourse, conversation, talk. Obs.
| c 1000 ælfric Saints' Lives (1890) II. 210 Seo modor sæt ᵹeornlice hlystende hire tale. a 1225 Ancr. R. 66 Eue heold..longe tale mid te neddre. a 1250 Owl & Night. 3, Iherde ich holde grete tale An hule and one niȝtingale. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 638 As tulk of tale most trwe. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1941 He turnyt hym tyte withouten tale more. a 1547 Surrey æneid iv. 144 Quene Iuno then thus tooke her tale againe. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. iv. 99 Thou desir'st me to stop in my tale against the haire. |
† b. An enumeration, a list.
Obs. rare.
| c 1050 Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 437/34 Laterculus, talu. |
† 2. Speech, language.
Obs. rare. (
Cf. taal.)
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 450 Bigamie is unkinde ðing, On engleis tale, twie-wifing. Ibid. 2526 God schilde hise sowle fro helle bale, Ðe made it ðus on engel tale. |
3. a. That which one tells; the relation of a series of events; a narrative, statement, information.
thereby hangs a tale (and such phrases):
= ‘about that there is something to tell’.
to tell one's tale: see
tell v.
| a 1060 Charter of Godwine & Leofwine in Kemble Cod. Dipl. IV. 266 Ða ða him seo talu cuð wæs, ða sende he ᵹewrit. c 1205 Lay. 24439 Ne mai hit na mon suggen on his tale [c 1275 in tale]. a 1300 Cursor M. 24887 (Edin.) Þe angel þus he tald his talle. 13.. Ibid. 8697 (Cott.) O þiskin tall [Gött. playnt] him thoght sel-cut[h], Als of a cas þat was vncuth. 1382 Wyclif Mark i. 28 And the tale [gloss or tything; 1388 fame; Vulg. rumor] of hym wente forth anoon in to al the cuntree of Galilee. 1412–20 Lydg.'s Chron. Troy (Roy. MS.) Rubric bef. l. 1701 Vlixes taile to Achile. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xx. 105 Vnto vs he takys no tent, bot ilk man trowes vnto his tayll [rimes dayll (= dale), hayll, avayll]. c 1470 Henryson Mor. Fab. x. (Fox & Wolf) ix, Ane leill man is not tane at half ane taill. 1523 Skelton Garl. Laurel 1200 Yet, thoughe I say it, therby lyeth a tale. 1535 Coverdale I Kings i. 14 While thou..talkest with the kynge, I wyll come in after the, and tell forth thy tayle. 1583 Leg. Bp. St. Androis 363 Sua he..brocht the teale bravelie about. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. i. 60 Gru. Out of their saddles into the durt, and thereby hangs a tale. Curt. Let's ha't, good Grumio. 1600 Holland Livy v. xxi. 194 But hereto longeth a tale. 1601 Weever Mirr. Mart. A iij b, One tale is good, untill anothers told. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack i, It was a good while before we ever heard tale or tidings of him. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 181 Then my fellow takes the tale up. 1891 E. Peacock N. Brendon I. 117 Mr. Tournay told his tale without comment. |
† b. The subject of common talk; the ‘talk’ (of the town, etc.).
Obs.| c 1230 Hali Meid. 33 Vpbrud in uuel muð tale bimong alle. 1596 Drayton Leg. iii. 576, I was the Tale of every common Tongue. |
c. pl. Things told so as to violate confidence or secrecy; reports of private matters not proper to be divulged; idle or mischievous gossip;
esp. in
to tell (bear, bring, carry) tales;
tales out of school (see
school n.1 1 e); proverbial
phr. dead men tell no tales.
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 334 Be no tellere of talis but trewe to þi lord. c 1450 Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 353 Now we have golde No talys xul be tolde. 1552 Huloet, Tales to brynge or tell, perfero. 1560 T. Becon Wks. II. 97 He that hath his body laden with meat & drinke is no more mete to prai vnto god then a dead man is to tel a tale. 1639 Massinger Unnat. Combat i. i, Peace, infant! Tales out of school! Take heed, you will be breeched else. 1664 J. Wilson Andron. Comn. i. iv. 14 'Twere best To knock 'um i' th head, and give it out The Soldiers did it... The dead can tell no tales. 1681 Dryden Span. Fryar iv. i. 48 There is a Proverb..which saies, that Dead-men tell no Tales; but let your Souldiers apply it at their own Perils. 1702 G. Farquhar Inconstant v. 76 Ay, ay, Dead Men, tell no Tales. 1737 L. Clarke Hist. Bible (1740) I. i. 73 Joseph..told tales of them to his father. 1838 James Robber vi, Dead men tell no tales. 1850 C. Kingsley Alton Locke I. iv. 67 Where are the stories of those who have not risen..who have ended in desperation?.. Dead men tell no tales. 1903 Westm. Gaz. 12 Feb. 2/3 Telling tales is reprobated by English public-school boys—rightly, in so far as the condemnation is directed against getting others into trouble for your own profit or pleasure. 1974 ‘M. Innes’ Appleby's other Story xv. 122 ‘There was only one sure way to do it.’ ‘To kill him?’.. ‘Yes. Dead men, they say, can tell no tales.’ |
d. in the same tale,
in a (= one) tale, in the same enumeration, statement, or category; hence, in agreement; so
in two tales.
arch.| c 1375 Cursor M. 683 (Fairf.) Þe bestes were in samen tale [Cott. war samer-tale] Wit-outen hurt in herde ay hale. 1577 Holinshed Chron. II. 1656/1 Thou art a false knaue to be in two tales, therfore said he, hang him vp. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado iv. ii. 33 'Fore God they are both in a tale. 1642 R. Carpenter Experience i. v. 14 Truth must needs be one..and can never be found in two contrary tales. 1860 Reade Cloister & H. lv, Which did accuse heavenly truth of falsehood for not being in a tale with him. 1887 Lang Myth, Ritual & Relig. II. 333 The Wesleyan missionary..is in the same tale with the Jesuit. |
e. tale of woe: see
woe n. 1 a.
4. A story or narrative, true or fictitious, drawn up so as to interest or amuse, or to preserve the history of a fact or incident; a literary composition cast in narrative form.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 101 We nime ȝeme of þre þing on þis tale. c 1275 Passion our Lord 1 in O.E. Misc. 37 Ihereþ nv one lutele tale..As we vyndeþ hit iwrite in þe godspelle. c 1290 Beket 1 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 106 Wolle ȝe nouþe i-heore þis englische tale? 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 190 Tendeþ how þis tale is titeled. 1375 Barbour Bruce ix. 576 [He] tald me this taill as I sall tell. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 792 That ech of yow, to shorte with oure weye, In this viage shal telle tales tweye. Ibid., Pard. Prol. 109 For lewed peple louen tales olde. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour F vij, I wold..that ye knewe..the tale of a quene of Fraunce whiche had to name Brunehault. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 67 A good tale yll tolde, in the tellyng is marde. 1606 Sir G. Goosecappe iii. i. E ij, Indeed Sir the best Tales in England are your Canterburie tales I assure ye. a 1771 Gray Dante 19 Hates the Tale of Troy for Helen's Sake. 1821 Scott Kenilw. xvii, They are spoken in a mad tale of fairies, love-charms, and I wot not what besides. |
5. a. A mere story, as opposed to a narrative of fact; a fiction, an idle tale; a falsehood.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 321 He [Satan]..Wente into a wirme, and tolde eue a tale. 1382 Wyclif 2 Pet. i. 16 Sotheli we not suynge vnwijse taales, han maad knowun to ȝou the vertu and prescience..of oure Lord Jhesu Crist. 1529 More Dyaloge iv. Wks. 269/2 Therfore it is but a tale to saye that faith draweth alway good workes with it. 1553 Respublica 727 Vaine woordes beeth but tales. 1619 Let. in Eng. & Germ. (Camden) 206 The report of the Marquis of Ansbach his having defeated Coronell Fulkes his regiment (which proves altogeather a tale). 1722 De Foe Plague 85 There was more of tale than of truth in those things. 1867 London Herald 23 Mar. 222/2 If he had had the sense to..pitch them a tale, he might have got off. |
b. In phrases, as
a Canterbury Tale,
old wives' tales,
pipers' tales,
travellers' tales,
a tale of Robin Hood,
tale of a roasted horse,
tale of a tub (see
tub), etc.
| 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 576/1 Thys is a fayre tale of a tubbe tolde vs of hys electes. c 1549 Cranmer Serm. Rebellion Wks. (Parker Soc.) II. 198 If we take it for a Canterbury tale, why do we not refuse it? 1575 Gascoigne Cert. Notes Instruct. in Steele Gl., etc. (Arb.) 36 The verse that is to easie is like a tale of a rosted horse. c 1590 Marlowe Faust. v. 133 Tush, these are trifles and mere old wives' tales. 1591 Harington Orl. Fur. xlv. cv, This is a tale indeed of Robinhood, Which to beleeue, might show my wits but weake. 1608 Topsell Serpents (1658) 778 To interpret these to be either fables and Canterbury tales, or true historicall narrations. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Cicogne, Contes de la cicogne, idle histories; vaine relations; tales of a tub, or, of a rosted horse. a 1641 Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. iii. (1642) 170 Fained leasings and tales of Robin hood. 1724 De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 97 Having entertained the fellow with a tale of a tub. |
c. A thing now existing only in story; a mere matter of history or tradition; a thing of the past.
| 1780 Burke Sp. at Bristol Wks. III. 413 No power..could have prevented a general conflagration; and at this day London would have been a tale. 1855 B. Taylor Poems Orient, On the Sea, The world we leave is a tale untold. |
II. 6. a. Numerical statement or reckoning; enumeration, counting, numbering; number.
| c 1200 Ormin 4324–5 Ȝiff þu þise taless kannst Inntill an tale sammnenn. c 1205 Lay. 7397 Swa fele þat nuste na man þe tale. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8100 Folc also wiþoute tale. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxvi. (Nycholas) 237 Þe quhet deliueryt hale in quantyte, mesur & tale. c 1450 Hymns Virg. 122/165 Alle the stonys grett and smale Thatt byth in erthe withoutyn tale. 1594 Carew Tasso (1881) 15 Equall in tale, nor lesse in value tride. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 39 Nothing with-holds, but that from an infinite tale of finites there may at length arise an infinite. 1691 Locke Lower. Interest Wks. 1727 II. 53 If you make your Money less in Weight, it must be made up in Tale. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. iii. 51 Once she takes the tale of all the Lambs. 1722 De Foe Plague 97 An exact tale of the dead bodies. 1780 Johnson Let. to Mrs. Thrale 1 May, There were..Lord Monboddo, and Sir Joshua, and ladies out of tale. 1826 G. S. Faber Diffic. Romanism (1853) p. liii, The goodly tale of folios..which now decorate or crowd my penetralè. 1862 Trollope N. Amer. I. xi. 249 By measures of forty bushels each, the tale is kept. |
| β c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xiv. 21 Ðæra etendra..tal [manducantium numerus]. Ibid. John vi. 10 ᵹesetton uutudlice ueras of tal suelce fifo ðusendo. a 1300 Cursor M. 7174 O þat heþen folk he feld A thusand þat wit tal was teld. |
b. by tale: as determined by counting individual objects or articles; by number; as distinguished from
by weight,
by measure.
| c 1205 Lay. 27606 Fif hundred bi tale. c 1300 Havelok 2026 He weren bi tale sixti and ten. 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 3430 Bi tale .xx. thousend hauberks of stiel. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xiii. ix. 623 Thenne fond they by the tale an honderd and fyfty. 1529 More Dyaloge iii. iv. Wks. 212 To way them rather then take them by tale. 1594 Plat Jewell-ho. iii. 75 Where oysters are..sold by tale. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. i. iv. (1869) I. 27 This money..was, for a long time, received at the exchequer by weight and not by tale. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxii. IV. 695 The second of May, had been fixed..as the last day on which the clipped crowns..were to be received by talc in payment of taxes. |
7. The number or amount made up, or to be made up or accounted for; the number all told; the complete sum, enumeration, or list.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 42 And siggen þenne hire tale of auez. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2891 Hem-seluen he fetchden ðe chaf,..And ðoȝ holden ðe tiȝeles tale. a 1300 Cursor M. 18627 Four thusand yere, þat was þe tale, And four hundret and four al hale. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 427 For Nero somtyme wolde wite þe tale and þe nombre of Iewes þat were at Ierusalem. 1539 Bible (Great) Exod. v. 18 Yet shal ye delyuer the hole tale of brycke. 1584 Fenner Def. Ministers (1587) 10 In generall and whole tale, we will allowe that, part whereof in the particular and seuerall parcelles wee will gayn-say. 1611 Bible I Sam. xviii. 27 They gaue them in full tale to the king. a 1732 T. Boston Crook in Lot (1805) 98 The one has multiplied the tale of their good works. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. 196 He will hardly be able to make up his tale of thirty millions of souls. 1864 Sir F. Palgrave Norm. & Eng. III. 70 They had a fair tale of children. 1884 May Crommelin Brown-Eyes xiii, Saddened at the increasing tale of years and months. |
† 8. An account, a reckoning of numbers (of money given and received, etc.).
Obs.| 1401 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 73 Ȝe wolden that there where oon lesse, Ȝe ȝaue neuer tale. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 197 b/1 They moche doubted that they shold not fynde theyr counte ne tale. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 173 Giue tale and take count, is a huswifelie point. 1602 Carew Cornwall i. 33 They keepe a iust tale of the number that euery hogshead contayneth. 1755 Smollett Quix. (1803) II. 8 The tale and account of what was both sowed and reaped, passed through my hands. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) vi. 116 You might just as well require me to deliver in a tale of all the pores in my skin. |
† 9. Reckoning of value; account, estimation, esteem, regard; in phrases, as
to hold (make, give, tell) no tale of: to hold of no account.
Obs.| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 147 Þet he telle swa lutel tale þer of; þet he hit nawicht ne luuie. c 1205 Lay. 12764 Þæt nis [MS. mis] þer bileued wel neh nan Þæt auere beo æi [c 1275 eni] tale on. a 1300 Cursor M. 7554 Quen golias on him bi-held, Ful littel tale of him he teld [Trin. litil he set bi him]. Ibid. 10980 He sale Bicum a man of mikel tale [Trin. a greet mon]. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 9 Of oþer heuene þen heer holde þei no tale. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 3923 Dyomedes ȝaf no tale Off alle that sat there In that sale. 1496 Dives & Paup. (W. de W.) i. vii. 38/2 The goodes of this worlde..they gaaf no grete tale thereof. |
III. 10. attrib. and
Comb.:
attrib., as
tale-book,
tale-faculty,
tale-monger,
tale-story;
obj. and
obj. gen., as
tale-forger,
tale-gatherer,
tale-maker,
tale-writer;
tale-gathering,
tale-spinning,
tale-writing ns. and
adjs.; also
tale-carrier = talebearer;
† tale-craft, numeration, arithmetic;
† tale-fish, a fish of such size as to be sold by tale;
tale-hearer, a willing listener to scandal or gossip;
tale-master, the authority for a report;
† tale-money, money reckoned by the tale,
i.e. by counting pieces or coins taken at their nominal value, not by weight;
tale-piet, a chattering ‘magpie’; a tell-tale (
dial.);
tale-wright, a constructor or maker of tales. See also
talebearer,
tale-teller, etc.
| 1628 Prynne Brief Suruay Epist. A ij, For the inhibiting and suppressing of all scurrilous and prophane Play-books, Ballads, Poems, and *Tale-bookes whatsoeuer. |
| 1552 Huloet, Tale bearer or *carier, rumigerulus. 1592 Nashe P. Penilesse 35 Spirits called spies and tale-carriers. 1643 Prynne Sov. Power Parl. App. 32 Common Tale-carriers, and accustomed to talke of trifling matters. |
| 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 110 Nothing better is it, than pumping two out of one, or taking the greater number out of the rest, in *Talecraft or Arithmetick. |
| 1677 W. Hughes Man of Sin iii. iii. 100 Forraign Authors have not the Monopoly of the *Tale-faculty neither. |
| 1482 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 222/1 That *tale fissh shuld not be pakked with the lesse fissh called Grilles,..and that the same tale fissh shuld conteigne in lengeth..xxvi ynches. |
| 1553 Becon Reliques of Rome (1563) 198 It is a harde thing for lyers and *taleforgers to agree. |
| 1711 Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) I. 350 We may often see a philosopher, or a wit, run a *tale-gathering in those idle desarts. |
| 1647 Trapp Comm. Matt. xviii. 16 The tale-bearer and the *tale-hearer are both of them abominable, and shut out of heaven. 1810 Splendid Follies I. 183 The variety of grimaces exhibited by the tale-bearer and the tale-hearers. |
| 1483 Cath. Angl. 377/2 A *Tale maker, fabulo. |
| 1897 Q. Rev. July 107 The sale-processes of *tale-makers. |
| a 1661 Fuller Worthies, General xxiii. (1662) 64, I tell you my Tale and my *Tale-master, which is essential to the begetting of credit to any Relation. |
| 1758 Jos. Harris Coins ii. ii. 50 Increasing the quantity of *tale-money, by giving the old names to smaller pieces of silver. Ibid. 70 All artificial methods of increasing tale-money are..pernicious. |
| 1613 Answ. Uncasing of Machivils Instr. E ij, Rather for thy quiets sake, liue with bread, Then mongst *talemongers seeke to be fed. |
| 1796 W. Marshall Yorksh. (ed. 2) Gloss., *Teyl-peyat, or Tel-pie, a tell-tale..one who divulges secrets; spoken chiefly of children. 1816 Scott Antiq. iv, Never mind me, sir, I am no tale-pyet. 1895 Crockett Men of Moss-Hags xiii, A Gordon—Covenant or no Covenant—is no tale-piet. |
| a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Wilts. (1662) iii. 158 Such a Medly Cloth is the *Tale-story of this Clothier. |
| 1570–76 W. Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 326 This Clerkly µυθοπλάστης, this *Talewright (I say) and Fableforger. |
| 1845 Poe in Broadway Jrnl. 7 June 354/2 If we except..Mr. Hawthorne..and..one or two others..there is not even a respectably skilful *tale-writer on this side the Atlantic. 1904 Daily Chron. 11 May 4/6 A tale-writer who moves through the magazines. |
| 1837 H. Martineau Soc. Amer. III. 213 *Tale-writing is her forte. |
▪ II. tale, v. Now
rare.
(
teɪl)
Forms: 1
talian, 3
talie(n, 4
talen; 3–
tale.
[OE. talian to reckon, impute, enumerate, = OS. talôn to reckon (MDu. tālen to speak, Du. talen to ask), OHG. zalôn to number, reckon (MHG. zalen, zaln, Ger. zahlen to pay), ON. tala (Sw. tala, Da. tale) to speak, talk, discourse:—OTeut. *talôjan, f. stem tal-: see tale n.] I. † 1. trans. To account, reckon, consider (something) to be (so and so).
Obs.| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxxiii. 226 [He] hit ðonne swiðe unaberendlic talað. a 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. v. xiii. §3 Nis ðis seo hel, swa ðu talest and wenest. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 53 Ðu tales..þæt ic ne mæᵹe ᵹebidda fader min. c 1000 Wulfstan Hom. vii. (Napier) 52 He talaþ..hine sylfne wærne and wisne. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 208 Se man..talaþ, þæt he þonne hal sie. c 1400 Cato's Mor. 100 in Cursor M. p. 1670 (Fairf.) Þai þat talis miche riches maste in nede and bisines beggis in þis life. |
† 2. To lay to the account of some one, to charge or impute (a thing)
to. Only
OE.| a 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. ii. ix. §4 Ne tala þu me, þæt ic ne cunne þone intingan þinre unrotnisse. c 1000 ælfric Hom. (Thorpe) I. 114 Ne taliᵹe nan man his yfelan dæda to Gode. |
† 3. To reckon, enumerate, relate. Only
OE.| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt., Pref. (1887) 5/7 Ðæt æt ægiptum..& ða æfterra..to talanna longsum is. |
4. To count up; to deal
out by number.
(In
quot. 1626 the sense is not clear:
cf. tally v.
1 1.)
| 1626 B. Jonson Staple of N. i. iii. Stage Direct., He tales the bils, and puts them vp in his pockets. 1828 W. Irving Columbus (1849) III. 135 He..ordered the brawling ruffian to be rewarded with a hundred lashes, which were taled out roundly to him upon the shoulders. 1881 G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk., Tale, to count. ‘I tale them ship [= sheep] to forty—'ow many bin a?’ |
II. † 5. trans. To say, speak, utter, tell.
Obs.| c 1205 Lay. 787 Nan swa unwitti þat word talie..ær he ihere minne horn. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 2157 And when þis blessud virgyn had talyd tys. Ibid. 3677 Bot he couthe nowther tale ny telle What þat euer was in his þouȝt. 1593 Queen Elizabeth Boethius iii. Met. xi. 69 If Platoes Musis tales the trueth. |
† 6. intr. To discourse, talk, gossip; to tell (
of); to tell tales.
Obs.| c 1205 Lay. 3800 He[o] taleden wið Morgan. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 795 Þis meiden..toc on toward þeos fif siðe tene to talien o þis wise. a 1225 Ancr. R. 356 Þet is eadie scheome þet ich of talie [MS. T spekie]. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 182 (231) Al þat glade nyght By Troilus he lay with mery chere To tale. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 329 The toun therof hath spoke and taled. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 14524 Priamus ran to halle a-valed, Ther these kynges to-gedur taled. a 1500 Chaucer's Dream 1896 [They] gan reherse Each one to other that they had seene And taling thus [etc.]. |
† b. To shout.
Obs.| c 1205 Lay. 20857 Hunten þar talieð; hundes þer galieð. 13.. K. Alis. 1415 (Bodl. MS.) Þe maryneres crieþ & taleþ, Ancres in to shippe þai haleþ. |
▪ III. tale variant of
tael;
obs. form of
tail.