Origin and history of telltale

"magpie," mid-13c. (late 12c. as a surname), from Old French pie (13c.), from Latin pica "magpie" (see magpie).

Middle English tale, from Old English talu "piece of information, story, narrative, fable; statement or relation of events alleged to be true;" also "deposition, accusation, reproach, blame;" in the broadest sense "talk, that which is told; action of telling." This is from Proto-Germanic *talō (source also of Dutch taal "speech, language," Danish tale "speech, talk, discourse," German Erzählung "story," also compare Gothic talzjan "to teach"). This is reconstructed in Watkins to be from a PIE root *del- (2) "to recount, count."

The etymological sense of the Modern English word in its "that which is told" meaning might have been "an account of things in their due order." Compare its relations talk (v.) and tell (v.).

Also in Old English it meant "series, calculation," and the secondary Modern English sense was "number, numerical quantity, numerical reckoning" (c. 1200). If the etymology is correct this might be nearer to the prehistoric Germanic sense. See tell (v.), teller, and compare cognate Old Frisian tale, Middle Dutch tal, Old Saxon tala, Danish tal "number;" Old High German zala "number; message," Middle High German zale, "number, message, talk, tale;" German Zahl "number."

The oldest uses refer to accounts held to be true. By c. 1200 it is attested as "unsubstantiated story, rumor, gossip," and by mid-13c. as "story known to be untrue." By mid-14c. specifically "things divulged that were given secretly" (as in tell tales "spread rumors," mid-14c.).

He asked me ayein—'whom that I sought,

And of my colour why I was so pale?'

'Forsothe,' quod I, 'and therby lyth a tale.'

[The Assembly of Ladies, probably late 15c.]

The proverbial notion in dead men tell no tales is as old as c. 1300 in English; the exact expression is by 1680s.

Middle English tellen, "speak, talk, say; count, reckon," from Old English tellan "reckon, calculate, number, compute; consider, think, esteem, account" (past tense tealde, past participle teald), from Proto-Germanic *taljan "mention in order" (source also of Old Saxon tellian "tell," Old Norse telja "to count, number; to tell, say," Old Frisian tella "to count; to tell," Middle Dutch and Dutch tellen, Old Saxon talon "to count, reckon," Danish tale "to speak," Old High German zalon, German zählen "to count, reckon"), according to Watkins from PIE root *del- (2) "to count, reckon" (see tale).

The meaning "narrate, announce, relate" in English is from c. 1000; that of "make known by speech or writing, announce" is from early 12c. The meaning "discern so as to be able to say" is from late 14c. The sense of "reveal or disclose" is from c. 1400. The meaning "order (someone to do something)" is from 1590s.

In intransitive use, c. 1300 as "give an account;" 1530s as " tell tales, act as an informer, 'peach;' " 1650s as "talk, chat, gossip." To hear tell "hear reported" is from c. 1200. To tell off is from 1804 as "count off;" to tell (someone) off "reprimand" is from 1919, from the "speak" sense of the word.

The older "counting" sense is preserved in teller and phrases such as tell time "count the hours," all told "when all are counted." For sense evolution, compare French conter "to count," raconter "to recount;" Italian contare, Spanish contar "to count, recount, narrate;" German zählen "to count," erzählen "to recount, narrate." Klein also compares Hebrew saphar "he counted," sipper "he told."