Without article: Discourse, narration, speech; occasionally idle talk, fable. Obsolete.

A false or idle tale, told (a) to deceive, cheat, or befool, (b) to divert or amuse; a lying story, a fable, a fiction; a jest or joke; a foolish…

An unlikely story; a joke, a jest. Cf. trifle, n. 1.

In phrases, as a Canterbury Tale, old wives' tales, pipers' tales, travellers' tales, a tale of Robin Hood, tale of a roasted horse, tale of a tub…

= fairy tale, n. 1.

a fantastic or impossible story; cf. pipe dream, n.

Something resembling a fairy tale in being unreal or incredible, or in having an idealized happy ending. Also: a fabricated story; a lie. Cf. fairy…

A folk tale; a story of the supernatural; (hence) an unlikely or unbelievable story.