Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Tall

Tall (ta̤l), a. [Compar. Taller; superl. Tallest.] [OE. tal seemly, elegant, docile; of uncertain origin; cf. AS. un-tala, un-tale, bad, Goth. untals indocile, disobedient, uninstructed, or W. & Corn. tal high, Ir. talla meet, fit, proper, just.] 1. High in stature; having a considerable, or an unusual, extension upward; long and comparatively slender; having the diameter or lateral extent small in proportion to the height; as, a tall person, tree, or mast.

Two of far nobler shape, erect and tall. Milton.

2. Brave; bold; courageous. [Obs.]

As tall a trencherman As e'er demolished a pye fortification. Massinger.

His companions, being almost in despair of victory, were suddenly recomforted by Sir William Stanley, which came to succors with three thousand tall men. Grafton.

3. Fine; splendid; excellent; also, extravagant; excessive. [Obs. or Slang] B. Jonson.

Syn. — High; lofty. — Tall, High, Lofty. High is the generic term, and is applied to anything which is elevated or raised above another thing. Tall specifically describes that which has a small diameter in proportion to its height; hence, we speak of a tall man, a tall steeple, a tall mast, etc., but not of a tall hill. Lofty has a special reference to the expanse above us, and denotes an imposing height; as, a lofty mountain; a lofty room. Tall is now properly applied only to physical objects; high and lofty have a moral acceptation; as, high thought, purpose, etc.; lofty aspirations; a lofty genius. Lofty is the stronger word, and is usually coupled with the grand or admirable.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.