ETYM as. talu number, speech, narrative; akin to Dutch taal speech, language, German zahl number, Old High Germ. zala, Icel. tal, tala, number, speech, Swed. tal, Dan. tal number, tale speech, Goth. talzjan to instruct. Related to Tell, Toll a tax, also Talk.
(Homonym: tail).
Story; a narrative with a moral.