tall
pronunciation
How to pronounce tall in British English:
UK [tɔːl]
How to pronounce tall in American English:
US [tɔːl]
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- Adjective:
- great in vertical dimension; high in stature
- lofty in style
- impressively difficult
- too improbable to admit of belief
Word Origin
- tall
- tall: [14] The ancestral meaning of tall is ‘quick’. It is a descendant of Old English getæl ‘quick, ready’, whose relatives included Old Frisian tel and Old High German gizal ‘quick’, and which may go back ultimately to the prehistoric Germanic base *tal- (source of English tale, talk, and tell). By the time of its re-emergence in Middle English it was being used for ‘brave, bold’, but the modern sense ‘of great height’ did not develop until the 16th century.
- tall (adj.)
- "high in stature," 1520s, probably from Middle English tal "handsome, good-looking; valiant; lively in speech; large, big; humble, meek," from Old English getæl "prompt, active," from Germanic *(ge)-tala- (cognates: Old High German gi-zal "quick," Gothic un-tals "indocile"). Main modern sense "being of more than average height (and slim in proportion to height)" probably evolved out of earlier meanings "brave, valiant, seemly, proper" (c. 1400), "attractive, handsome" (late 14c.). Sense evolution is "remarkable" [OED], but adjectives applied to persons can wander far in meaning (such as pretty, buxom, German klein "small, little," which in Middle High German meant the same as its English cognate clean (adj.)). Meaning "having a (defined) height," whether lofty or not is from 1580s. Meaning "exaggerated" (as in tall tale) is American English colloquial attested by 1846. Phrase tall, dark, and handsome is recorded from 1906. Related: Tallness.
Synonym
Antonym
Example
- 1. It was about eight inches tall and standing vertically .
- 2. Yet we cannot choose how tall we are .
- 3. Choose a large tall vase for a more uniform display .
- 4. The trucks are two stories tall .
- 5. Tall people really do get ahead .