tattle

tattle
tattle (v.) late 15c., "to stammer, prattle," in Caxton's translation of "Reynard the Fox," probably from M.Flem. tatelen "to stutter," parallel to M.Du., M.L.G., E.Fris. tateren "to chatter, babble," possibly of imitative origin. The meaning "tell tales or secrets" is first recorded 1580s. Sense influenced by TITTLE (Cf. tittle). Related: Tattled; tattling.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Tattle — Tat tle, n. Idle talk or chat; trifling talk; prate. [1913 Webster] [They] told the tattle of the day. Swift. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tattle — ► NOUN ▪ gossip; idle talk. ► VERB ▪ engage in tattle. DERIVATIVES tattler noun. ORIGIN Flemish tatelen, tateren …   English terms dictionary

  • Tattle — Tat tle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Tattled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Tattling}.] [Akin to OE. tateren, LG. tateln, D. tateren to stammer, and perhaps to E. titter.] 1. To prate; to talk idly; to use many words with little meaning; to chat. [1913 Webster] The …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tattle — index betray (disclose), divulge, inform (notify), report (rumor) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton …   Law dictionary

  • tattle — *gossip, blab Analogous words: divulge, disclose, betray, *reveal …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • tattle — [v] gossip; tell rumor babble, blab*, chat, chatter, give away, give the show away*, gossip, have a big mouth*, jabber, leak, noise, prate, prattle*, rumor, snitch, spill, spill the beans*, spread rumor*, squeal, talk, talk idly, tell on, tell… …   New thesaurus

  • tattle — [tat′ l] vi. tattled, tattling [LME tattlen, prob. < MDu tatelen, of echoic orig.] 1. to talk idly; chatter; gossip 2. to reveal other people s secrets; tell tales 3. to inform against someone vt. to reveal (a secret) through gossiping n. idle …   English World dictionary

  • tattle — 1. verb 1) we were tattling about him Syn: gossip, chatter, chat, prattle, babble, jabber, gabble, rattle on; informal chinwag, jaw, yak, gab, natter, tittle tattle, chitchat 2) I would tattle on her if I had evidence …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • tattle — v. (colloq.) (D; intr.) ( to inform ) to tattle on * * * [ tætl] (colloq.) (D; intr.) ( to inform ) to tattle on (colloq.) (D; intr.) ( to inform ) to tattle on …   Combinatory dictionary

  • tattle — tat|tle [ˈtætl] v [Date: 1400 1500; : Middle Dutch; Origin: tatelen] 1.) [i]old fashioned to talk about other people s private lives = ↑gossip 2.) especially AmE if a child tattles, they tell a parent or teacher that another child has done… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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