tattle C2+ Topic:Media & Publishing US /ˈtætəl/ UK /ˈtætl/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 verb to report another's wrongdoing; to gossip idly The boy threatened to tattle to the teacher about the prank. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to report another's... blabsnitchgossipinformtellprattlesqueal Word family Derived forms tattlertattlingtattletale Related forms tittle-tattle Etymology AI details From Middle English tatelen ('to stammer, prattle'), of imitative origin, probably borrowed from Middle Flemish tatelen ('to stammer, babble'). tatelen Middle Dutch View etymology graph -> Topics Media & Publishing External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # tattle **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ˈtætəl/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈtætl/ ## Meanings 1. to report another's wrongdoing; to gossip idly ## Examples - The boy threatened to tattle to the teacher about the prank. ## Synonyms - blab - snitch - gossip - inform - tell - prattle - squeal ## Derived Forms - tattler - tattling - tattletale ## Related Forms - tittle-tattle ## Roots and Affixes - Root: tatelen ## Etymology From Middle English tatelen ('to stammer, prattle'), of imitative origin, probably borrowed from Middle Flemish tatelen ('to stammer, babble'). ## AI Etymology Tattle comes from Middle English tatelen ('to stammer, prattle'), of imitative origin, probably borrowed from Middle Flemish tatelen ('to stammer, babble'). The form is best read as a historical transfer or inheritance, with its older language material carrying the main semantic load. As a verb and noun, it means "to report another's wrongdoing; to gossip idly", so the modern sense keeps the older action or relation visible. Relevant historical forms include Middle Dutch tatelen. Derivative forms include tattler, tattling, tattletale; related words include tittle-tattle. ## Topics - Media & Publishing markdown