Definition of: tale

(tāl) noun
1. That which is told or related; a story; recital.
2. Hence, a connected narrative or account, whether oral or written, of an actual, legendary, or fictitious event or series of events.
3. An idle or malicious report; a piece of gossip.
4. A deliberately untrue story; a lie; falsehood.
5. Archaic A counting or enumeration; reckoning; numbering.
6. Archaic That which is counted; an amount; total; sum.
7. Obs. Speech; talk; also, the language of a country. ♦ Homophone: tail. [OE talu speech, narrative. Akin to TELL, TALK.]