To Tell Once Meant to Count
A teller counts. Bank tellers and vote tellers keep the original sense of tell, which meant to count before it meant to say.
A teller counts things — money at a bank, votes in an election. That is not a coincidence of spelling: *tell* meant to count long before it meant to say, and the old sense survives in *teller*, in *all told*, and in the idea of a bank *teller* who tells out coins. German *zählen*, to count, is the same word, and English *tale* originally meant a number as well as a story.
- A bank cashier. *Ask the teller.*
- A vote counter. *The tellers announced the result.*
- Storyteller — the other sense of tell. *A gifted storyteller.*
- All told — counting everything. *Forty, all told.*
- Fortune teller — one who foretells. *A fairground fortune teller.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | tell | Tell me. |
| Past | told | He told us. |
| Agent | teller | A bank teller. |
| Noun | tale | An old tale. |
| Related | tally | Keep a tally. |
- There were nine of us, all told.The counting sense survives here.
- The teller counted the notes twice.Banking.
- Tellers were appointed for the division.Parliamentary voting.
Words where tell means count
- Teller — one who counts money or votes
- All told — everything counted
- Untold — too many to count, as in untold riches
- Tale — originally a number as well as a narrative
- Telling — of a detail, one that counts
Old English *tellan*, to count or reckon, and also to relate. The counting sense is the older, and it survives mainly in fixed expressions.
Why is a bank cashier called a teller?
Because tell originally meant to count. The teller counted out money.
What does untold mean?
Literally uncounted, and so beyond counting. Untold wealth means more than can be reckoned.