tales
Americannoun
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(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.
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(used with a singular verb) the order or writ summoning such jurors.
noun
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(functioning as plural) a group of persons summoned from among those present in court or from bystanders to fill vacancies on a jury panel
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(functioning as singular) the writ summoning such jurors
Other Word Forms
- talesman noun
Etymology
Origin of tales
1300–50; Middle English < Medieval Latin tālēs ( dē circumstantibus ) such (of the bystanders)
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.
John Galsworthy’s tales of an affluent family in Victorian and Edwardian England offer a vivid portrait of a vanished era.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
Sooner or later we must stop believing in fairy tales and repeated broken promises, and embrace reality again.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
These are not cautionary tales about individual failure.
From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026
Most Godzilla tales present slightly different interpretations of a mythology that began with the first “Godzilla” released in 1954.
From Salon • Mar. 20, 2026
While they ate in the bright circle of light, Allun, Marlie, and Jonn talked of the village and told tales of times gone by and things that made them laugh.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
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.
