tall
adjective
- high in stature; have a height measurement (possibly a relatively large one)
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /tɔːl/ / [tʰoːɫ] / /toːl/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English tall, talle, tal (“seemly, becoming, handsome, good-looking, excellent, good, valiant, lively in speech, bold, great, large, big”), from Old English *tæl, ġetæl (“swift, ready, having mastery of”), from Proto-Germanic *talaz (“submissive, pliable, obedient”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol-, *del- (“to aim, calculate, adjust, reckon”). Cognate with Scots tal (“high, lofty, tall”), Old Frisian tel (“swift”), Old Saxon gital (“quick”), Old High German gizal (“active, agile”), Gothic 𐌿𐌽𐍄𐌰𐌻𐍃 (untals, “indocile, disobedient”). The Oxford English Dictionary notes: "The sense development [of tall] is remarkable, but is paralleled more or less by that of other adjectives expressing estimation, such as buxom, canny, clean, clever, cunning, deft, elegant, handsome, pretty, proper; German klein, as compared with English clean, presents the antithesis to modern tall as compared to tall in early Middle English. It has been conjectured that in the sense 'high of stature' it is a different word, adopted from the Welsh tal in some sense; but the latter is, according to Professor Rhŷs, merely a 16th-century borrowing of the English word (in Owen Pughe's Dictionary erroneously mixed up with the genuine Welsh word tal (“end, brow, forehead”), with which it has no possible connection.)"
- Having a top that is far up (contrast: deep (having a bottom that is far down' ).)
“Being tall is an advantage in basketball.”
“Ostriches are the tallest living birds.”
- Having a top that is far up (contrast: deep (having a bottom that is far down' ).)
“Tall trees, at least about 30m high.”
“To him it seemed that the Bornean rainforests, the tallest on Earth, were places that had: 'remained untouched and unchanged since remote geological epochs[.]'”
- Having a top that is far up (contrast: deep (having a bottom that is far down' ).)
- Hard to believe, such as a tall story or a tall tale.
“"That's tall talk." "Not an inch taller than the truth."”
- Old senses that arose before the height-related senses
- Old senses that arose before the height-related senses
- Old senses that arose before the height-related senses
- Old senses that arose before the height-related senses
noun
Etymology: From Middle English tall, talle, tal (“seemly, becoming, handsome, good-looking, excellent, good, valiant, lively in speech, bold, great, large, big”), from Old English *tæl, ġetæl (“swift, ready, having mastery of”), from Proto-Germanic *talaz (“submissive, pliable, obedient”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol-, *del- (“to aim, calculate, adjust, reckon”). Cognate with Scots tal (“high, lofty, tall”), Old Frisian tel (“swift”), Old Saxon gital (“quick”), Old High German gizal (“active, agile”), Gothic 𐌿𐌽𐍄𐌰𐌻𐍃 (untals, “indocile, disobedient”). The Oxford English Dictionary notes: "The sense development [of tall] is remarkable, but is paralleled more or less by that of other adjectives expressing estimation, such as buxom, canny, clean, clever, cunning, deft, elegant, handsome, pretty, proper; German klein, as compared with English clean, presents the antithesis to modern tall as compared to tall in early Middle English. It has been conjectured that in the sense 'high of stature' it is a different word, adopted from the Welsh tal in some sense; but the latter is, according to Professor Rhŷs, merely a 16th-century borrowing of the English word (in Owen Pughe's Dictionary erroneously mixed up with the genuine Welsh word tal (“end, brow, forehead”), with which it has no possible connection.)"
- Someone or something that is tall.
“But in the second generation of hybrids (from seed of the first) talls and dwarfs were both present, and in the proportion of twelve talls to four dwarfs.”
“The industries that best accommodate talls are those that have faced personal injury lawsuits.”
- A clothing size for taller people.
“Do you have this in a tall?”
- A tall serving of a drink, especially one from Starbucks, which contains 12 ounces.