tales

[teylz, tey-leez]

noun

Law.

1. (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.

2. (used with a singular verb),  the order or writ summoning such jurors.

tales

/ ˈteɪliːz /

noun

1. (functioning as plural) a group of persons summoned from among those present in court or from bystanders to fill vacancies on a jury panel

2. (functioning as singular) the writ summoning such jurors

Other Word Forms

• talesman noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tales¹

1300–50; Middle English < Medieval Latin tālēs ( dē circumstantibus ) such (of the bystanders)

Word History and Origins

Origin of tales¹

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

Example Sentences

It captures the star as she falls in love with American Footballer Travis Kelce; interspersed with cautionary - and sometimes catty - tales about the music industry.

From BBC

There are even tales of villagers calling on priests to talk to the spirits of glaciers and get them to move up the mountain.

From BBC

Later, she gave Goodall books about animals and adventure — especially the Doctor Dolittle tales and Tarzan.

From Los Angeles Times

Tadpoles become toads, and, in tales such as this one, metaphorical toads can be — whether through will, chance, or wishes — transformed into something else.

From Salon

Her romance fizzles, but a passion is born: She’ll now explore cemeteries around the globe, musing on the tales they tell, the cultures they mirror.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• account 
• anecdote 
• fable 
• fiction 
• legend 
• myth 
• narrative 
• novel 
• short story 
• yarn