Dictionary.com

tales

[ teylz, tey-leez ]
/ teɪlz, ˈteɪ liz /
Save This Word!

noun Law.
(used with a plural verb) persons chosen to serve on the jury when the original panel is insufficiently large: originally selected from among those present in court.
(used with a singular verb) the order or writ summoning such jurors.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Origin of tales

1300–50; Middle English <Medieval Latin tālēs (dē circumstantibus) such (of the bystanders)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tales in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tales

tales
/ (ˈteɪliːz) /

noun law
(functioning as plural) a group of persons summoned from among those present in court or from bystanders to fill vacancies on a jury panel
(functioning as singular) the writ summoning such jurors

Derived forms of tales

talesman, noun

Word Origin for tales

C15: from Medieval Latin phrase tālēs dē circumstantibus such men from among the bystanders, from Latin tālis such
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
FEEDBACK