a trivial lie
"he told a fib about eating his spinach"
"how can I stop my child from telling stories?"
An account of an asserted fact or circumstance; a rumour; a report, especially an idle or malicious story; a piece of gossip or slander; a lie.
"The antique shop owner weighed the silver on a scale calibrated in both ounces and tale, an old spelling for the unit known as tael."
Alternative form of tael
In plain English: A tale is a story that someone tells, often about something exciting or made up.
"The old grandmother told us an interesting tale about her childhood in the village."
To speak; discourse; tell tales.
"The old storyteller would often sit by the fire to tale of his adventures in distant lands."
In plain English: To tale is to tell a story, though this spelling is usually a mistake for the noun form.
"The old storyteller began to tale his adventures to the children by the fire."
Usage: Use this verb primarily in historical or literary contexts to mean speaking at length, as it is rarely used in modern everyday English compared to the noun form meaning gossip. Avoid using it interchangeably with synonyms like "speak" unless you are aiming for a specific archaic tone.
The word "tale" comes from the Old English talu, which originally meant a calculation or series of numbers. Over time, this term shifted in meaning to refer to a story before traveling into Middle English and eventually modern usage.