Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com

tala

1 American  
[tah-luh] / ˈtɑ lə /

noun

  1. a repeated rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed beats played on a percussion instrument in Indian music.

tala 2 American  
[tah-luh] / ˈtɑ lə /

noun

plural

tala

  1. a paper money, cupronickel or silver coin, and monetary unit of Western Samoa, equal to 100 sene.

tala British  
/ ˈtɑːlə /

noun

  1. the standard monetary unit of Samoa, divided into 100 sene

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tala1

1890–95; < Sanskrit tāla; compare Hindi tāl

Origin of tala1

1965–70; < Samoan tālā < English dollar

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Photographer Pétala Lopes wanted to show this couple’s daily struggles.

From Washington Post

When we got beyond our own camp we passed through a kind of open wood with thinly-scattered "tala" trees.

From Project Gutenberg

Until Joe got his "tala" I made disappointing progress at teaching him our language.

From Project Gutenberg

Toddy is likewise procured from the lontar or Borassus flabellifer, the tala of the Hindus.

From Project Gutenberg

Hence we had only a great development of solanums, talas, acacias, euphorbias, and laurels.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.