What does "tall" mean?

1. (drink size) a specific size for a drink, usually about 12 ounces. 2. (clothing size) a size of clothing designed for people who are taller than average.

How do you use "tall"?

Used as a pre-noun modifier for beverage orders. Often used as a collective noun or a specific size label.

tall

adj. · n.

US //ˈtɔɫ// UK //tˈɔːl// tall

1 drink size (adj.)
B1 Intermediate American English

a specific size for a drink, usually about 12 ounces.

a specific commercial designation for a beverage size, notably in coffee chains, typically representing a small or medium volume.

Example

I would like a tall latte with oat milk, please.

Example

The customer was confused to find that a tall coffee was actually the smallest size available at that particular franchise.

Usage

Used as a pre-noun modifier for beverage orders.
- small
- medium
2 clothing size (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

a size of clothing designed for people who are taller than average.

a category of garment sizing designed to accommodate individuals with longer limbs or a longer torso than standard patterns.

Example

He has to shop in the tall section because standard shirts are too short for his arms.

Example

The retailer expanded its range to include talls and petites, ensuring a better fit for a more diverse customer base.

Usage

Often used as a collective noun or a specific size label.
- petite

Origin

From Middle English tall, talle, tal (“seemly, becoming, handsome, good-looking, excellent, good, valiant, lively in speech, bold, great, large, big”), from Old English tæl, ġetæl (“swift, ready, having mastery of”), from Proto-Germanic talaz (“submissive, pliable, obedient”), from Proto-Indo-European dol-, del- (“to aim, calculate, adjust, reckon”). Cognate with Scots tal (“high, lofty, tall”), Old Frisian tel (“swift”), Old Saxon gital (“quick”), Old High German gizal (“active, agile”), Gothic 𐌿𐌽𐍄𐌰𐌻𐍃 (untals, “indocile, disobedient”). The Oxford English Dictionary notes: "The sense development [of tall] is remarkable, but is paralleled more or less by that of other adjectives expressing estimation, such as buxom, canny, clean, clever, cunning, deft, elegant, handsome, pretty, proper; German klein, as compared with English clean, presents the antithesis to modern tall as compared to tall in early Middle English. It has been conjectured that in the sense 'high of stature' it is a different word, adopted from the Welsh tal in some sense; but the latter is, according to Professor Rhŷs, merely a 16th-century borrowing of the English word (in Owen Pughe's Dictionary erroneously mixed up with the genuine Welsh word tal (“end, brow, forehead”), with which it has no possible connection.)"

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