tales

Pluraltales, talesim, taleysim, talaisim, taleisim

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of tale.

   These folk tales have been passed down for many generations.

   The sailor's tales of distant ports kept the whole table listening.

   Note

   The ordinary plural carries every meaning of tale with it. That includes stories and histories, and also rumors, gossip, slander and outright lies, so context decides whether tales are entertainment or accusation. The same spelling belongs to an unrelated legal word, built on Latin talis, "such (persons)", which names a stand-in juror. That tales is not a plural of tale at all.

2. 2
   SayTAY-leezUS/ˈteɪliz/UK/ˈteɪliːz/

   nouncountable

   A person available to be called in to fill an empty place on a jury.

   The sheriff summoned tales from among the bystanders to complete the panel.

   Two of the tales had been sitting in the public gallery only minutes before they were sworn.

   Note

   Despite the look, this word is Latin rather than an English plural of tale. Tales is the plural of talis, "such (persons)", meaning the people called in to make up a short jury. English uses it for the individual juror as well, so a single replacement can be called a tales. The same Latin word also names the paperwork that finds and calls these jurors.

3. 3
   SayTAY-leezUS/ˈteɪliz/UK/ˈteɪliːz/

   nouncountable

   A writ that summons additional people to court to fill vacancies in a jury.

   Counsel asked the court to award a tales after three jurors were excused.

   The sheriff returned the tales with four new names, and the trial resumed after lunch.

   Note

   This court order has a plural-looking name, but it is a single writ and takes a singular article. A court awards a tales, and counsel asks for one. It takes its name from the people it summons, the stand-in jurors, so the order and the jurors it produces share one word.

4. 4
   SayTAY-leezUS/ˈteɪliz/UK/ˈteɪliːz/

   nouncountable

   A book or register listing people available to fill vacancies in a jury.

   The clerk opened the tales and read out the next available name.

   Names of qualified citizens were entered in the tales each court term.

   Note

   Here the legal Latin word stretches from the people to the paperwork that lists them, so a name is entered in the tales or read out from it. Keep it apart from the summoning writ. The register records who could serve, while the writ is the order that actually calls them into court.

5. 5
   SayTAH-luhsUS/ˈtɑləs/UK/ˈtɑːləs/

   noun

   Alternative form of tallit.

   Note

   Here the letters spell a garment: the tasseled Jewish prayer shawl that covers the chest and upper back, whose main spelling is tallit. Though it ends in -s, it names one shawl, so a worshiper folds his tales away after prayers. Because the same spelling also means stories, tallit is the clearer choice whenever context might mislead.

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