tall

A1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /tɔl/ UK /tɔːl/ See IPA manual

Freq #2070

Meanings

1

adj
Having a greater than average height.

My brother is very tall for his age.
2

adj
Having a top that is a long way up; high.

They walked past a row of tall trees.
3

adj
Hard to believe; exaggerated.

He told us a tall tale about catching a giant fish.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 adj · having a top that is a long... high

More elevated eminent exalted lofty

Opposites

deep shallow short

Word family

Forms tallertallesttallish

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

unusually tall
Taller than is normal or expected for the relevant group or setting.

Adverb + adjective

Simplified etymology

Tall entered English in the late Middle Ages with senses such as “quick” and “handsome,” and later “good at fighting.” Its familiar meaning “of more than average height” did not appear until the mid-sixteenth century.

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 devel…

tall Middle English *tæl Old English *talaz Proto-Germanic *dol- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# tall

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /tɔl/
**IPA (UK):** /tɔːl/
**Frequency rank:** 2070

## Meanings
1. Having a greater than average height.
2. Having a top that is a long way up; high.
3. Hard to believe; exaggerated.

## Examples
- My brother is very tall for his age.
- They walked past a row of tall trees.
- He told us a tall tale about catching a giant fish.

## Synonyms
- elevated
- eminent
- exalted
- high
- lofty

## Antonyms
- deep
- shallow
- short

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: tall
- Root: *tæl
- Root: *talaz
- Root: *dol-

## 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 devel…

## AI Etymology
Tall is 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”).

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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